


Artificially Human

by Mialienes



Series: AndroidMi [1]
Category: Super Junior, Super Junior-M
Genre: Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Androids, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-14
Updated: 2015-01-02
Packaged: 2018-03-01 09:55:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 28,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2768942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mialienes/pseuds/Mialienes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kyuhyun is gifted an android, he doesn't expect all the questions that comes with it: </p><p>How do things work? What are dreams like? What is love? </p><p>And - what does it mean to be human?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Kyuhyun? Open up!" 

Kyuhyun could hear his best friend hollering through the front door of his apartment, and he hurried to open it before Ryeowook disturbed his neighbours. 

"Hey," Kyuhyun said as he pulled the door open, only to be gestured aside as Ryeowook wheeled a large box past. Apart from the size - taller than both Ryeowook and Kyuhyun and about a metre wide - the box was plain brown cardboard, and otherwise unnoteworthy. 

"What… what's this?" Kyuhyun asked as Ryeowook settled it in the middle of his living room, easing it off the trolley carefully.

"It's a present."

"Why are you giving me a present?" 

"Because you're sad and lonely and it makes my heart hurt to see you like this?" Ryeowook ignored Kyuhyun's sputtered protests about not being either of those things, pulling a craft knife out of his pocket to cut delicately along the taped seams. "Actually, it's something I made and I need to get it out of my house." The box fell open to expose a tall man, sitting down with his arms curled around his bent knees, his eyes closed. "I don't trust anyone else to look after him," Ryeowook told Kyuhyun, in response to his suspicious face. 

Kyuhyun circled the figure. It looked amazingly lifelike, except for the way that it was absolutely still, with no movement or breathing. "Is this one of your androids? Wow, you've gotten really good - he looks just like a person." Kyuhyun placed a hand on the robot's forehead, and despite knowing that he wasn't real, he was still expecting it to be warm. "He's incredible. But why is he here?"

"I told you," Ryeowook said, putting his knife away. "I needed to get him out of my house. Because Yesung doesn't like him," he added, slightly abashed. "Let me show you how to turn him on." Ryeowook pressed his thumb to a spot behind the android's right ear, holding it still for five seconds. The android's eyes flickered as he came to life, body twitching and even the chest beginning to rise and fall in a simulation of breathing. "His name is Zhou Mi."

"Zhou Mi?" 

"Yup. Zhou Mi, stand up." 

The android - Zhou Mi - did as instructed, pulling himself to his feet in an easy graceful movement. He was incredibly detailed, amazingly lifelike, smooth pale skin, neatly brushed dark hair with a long fringe that flopped into his eyes, a long nose and pink thin mouth. His cheeks had a slight flush to them and his eyes were a deep dark brown. He was tall, towering over Ryeowook and even a little taller than Kyuhyun, with broad shoulders tapering down to a small waist. 

"Heechul designed the body," Ryeowook said in response to Kyuhyun's unspoken question, rolling his eyes. "I shouldn't have given him free reign - he went a bit overboard. My next android is going to be shorter, I swear!" Then to Zhou Mi, he said, "Zhou Mi, you belong to Kyuhyun now. Obey all his instructions. Okay?"

Zhou Mi blinked slowly, peering down at Ryeowook as the words filtered through, before nodding. "Yes." 

"Wait!" Kyuhyun said. "How do I look after him?" He tried to ignore the way Zhou Mi had turned to look at him, staring at him with those piercing dark eyes that occasionally caught the light as he moved. 

Ryeowook waved his hand. "He's an android. Just - I don't know - tell him what you want him to do. He'll learn as he goes along, so - talk to him, I guess? Show him things? He's still a bit young, you'll see what I mean when you've spent some time with him." Ryeowook pursed his lips, looking regretful. "He's the most advanced model I've made so far. It's a shame that I won't have the opportunity to explore his full potential." He pet Zhou Mi's arm fondly and at the affectionate gesture, Zhou Mi's face broke into a small smile. "Well, I have to go. See you. Goodbye Zhou Mi."

"Goodbye?" Zhou Mi replied, smile slipping off his face. Now that he had warmed up after being powered off, Kyuhyun could see how lifelike even his reactions were. Ryeowook had done an amazing job with the programming. 

Ryeowook left, leaving Zhou Mi and Kyuhyun alone. Zhou Mi blinked at him before breaking the silence. "Master? Do you have an order?"

Kyuhyun flinched at that title. It sounded really strange. "Don't call me that." 

Zhou Mi's head tilted a little, a quizzical expression on his face. "That's what I'm programmed to call you?" He paused for a moment, as if he was sorting through his instructions. "Sir?" 

Kyuhyun shook his head. "Not that either. Just call me Kyuhyun."

"Kyuhyun? Kyuhyun." Zhou Mi said his name slowly, as if he was practicing the way it sounded in his mouth. "Kyuhyun. Do you have an order?"

Kyuhyun had no idea what he was meant to do with him. What kind of android was he? Owning an android was the latest craze amongst the wealthy and early tech adopters, although the ones sold in the stores weren't quite like Zhou Mi. Those ones were mostly servant androids, purchased to do simple chores like laundry and tidying, and they still retained a distinct robotic persona. 

However, even Kyuhyun had heard that the technology had improved a lot, and apparently companion androids were going to be the next big thing. He didn't know for sure because he'd never been interested. Even though Ryeowook, his best friend, built androids to order, it had never been a common interest. Kyuhyun was more interested in people, in human behaviour, not artificial intelligence masquerading as anything else. 

Still, he thought as he looked Zhou Mi up and down, he owned an android now, so he may as well make use of it. 

"What did you normally do at Ryeowook's house?"

Zhou Mi's chin dipped to his chest. "Normally… normally I was powered off." Kyuhyun wondered what the story was there, making a mental note to ask Ryeowook about it.

"Well…" At a complete loss as to what to do, Kyuhyun said, "I'm going to watch TV. Do you want to watch with me?" 

They moved to the couch, Zhou Mi sitting down awkwardly, his back ramrod straight and hands placed on top of his knees. Kyuhyun didn't mention his odd pose, grabbing the remote to turn the TV on.

"What is that?" Zhou Mi asked him, staring at the remote in Kyuhyun's hand with interest.

"This is a remote control," Kyuhyun told him. "It controls the TV. See?" He pressed the power button, and Zhou Mi looked rapt as the TV came to life. "The different buttons have different functions." Kyuhyun handed the control over. "You can try it." He smiled a little as Zhou Mi pressed the buttons, looking impressed each time the TV screen changed or the volume went up and down - like a child. He was starting to understand Ryeowook's comment about Zhou Mi being young.

Finally Zhou Mi stopped on a channel showing cartoons. He turned to Kyuhyun. "Do I have a remote control?" 

"I… I don't think so? No." 

Zhou Mi's head tilted again. "I can be controlled without buttons." It was a statement and not a question, but Kyuhyun nodded. 

"Uh, yes. I guess so." 

They watched the cartoon for a while, the bright colours and animations moving across the screen. Kyuhyun let out an occasional laugh while Zhou Mi sat in silence next to him.

"Kyuhyun?"

"Yes?"

"You're laughing because it's funny?"

Kyuhyun knew that Zhou Mi was doing that quizzical head tilt at him again. "Yes, I'm laughing because it's funny."

"Why is it funny?" 

"Because… because…" Kyuhyun didn't know how to explain it. "Because there's a sponge that lives under the ocean and he has a best friend who's a starfish? And it doesn't make any sense so - I guess that's funny?" 

Zhou Mi hummed, as if he was tucking the information away. "Things that don't make sense are funny?"

"Sometimes…" Kyuhyun told him. 

Zhou Mi frowned, staring at the TV screen. "I don't understand. Does that mean I should laugh?"

"Ahh…" This was getting all too difficult for Kyuhyun and he decided to switch the TV off. "You know what? It's time for dinner." He stood up, heading to the kitchen, Zhou Mi trailing behind him. "I'm guessing that you don't eat?" Kyuhyun opened the door to the fridge, sticking his head inside. He pulled out a container of leftovers, removing the lid and giving the contents a sniff. 

"I drink water but I don't need to eat," Zhou Mi confirmed. "Can I?" He held out his hand, asking for the container, and Kyuhyun passed it over. It was leftover from a delivery Kyuhyun had ordered the other day, and Zhou Mi held it up to his nose, mimicking Kyuhyun's actions. "It smells… interesting," Zhou Mi said, perking up at the aroma. 

So Zhou Mi could smell. Ryeowook had obviously installed an electronic nose, capable of detecting odors. 

"It's called curry," Kyuhyun told him. 

"Curry," Zhou Mi said thoughtfully. "I like it." He took another sniff. "Can I try it?"

Kyuhyun took the food back, placing it on the kitchen bench while he reached for a bowl. "I thought you didn't eat?"

"I don't need to," Zhou Mi responded, "But I can taste." He hovered over Kyuhyun as he put the curry into a bowl and then into a microwave, setting it to 3 minutes. Zhou Mi leant forward and peered inside, watching as it heated, the bowl spinning around slowly inside. Once it was ready, Kyuhyun nudged him aside to open the door. 

"Ow! Hot!" Kyuhyun yanked his hands back. He always forgot how hot things got in there. 

"Let me," Zhou Mi said as he manouvered Kyuhyun aside to get the bowl, cradling it in his hands as he pulled it out. 

"It's not hot?" Kyuhyun asked him, guiding him over to the kitchen table. 

"My temperature gauge is telling me that it's 57°C."

Right, that was definitely hot to be carrying. "It doesn't hurt?" Kyuhyun didn't know why he was asking really, if he was carrying the bowl then he was probably fine, but Zhou Mi was so advanced that Kyuhyun wouldn't be surprised if Ryeowook had also installed pain sensors. 

Zhou MI placed the food down on the table and blinked at Kyuhyun. "Hurt?" He looked at his hands. "This sensation is hurt? It is... unpleasant." 

"Ahhhh." Kyuhyun dragged him over the sink to run his hands under cold water. Zhou Mi's hands, his skin, was soft and warm. Every single detail of Zhou Mi was so convincing. Kyuhyun wondered what he was constructed out of - he didn't feel like he was synthetic. 

After a minute, Zhou Mi interrupted.

"The hurt has gone away now." 

They turned the taps off and dried Zhou Mi's hands with a teatowel. They returned to the table, Zhou Mi sitting down in the seat next to Kyuhyun after being told to. Kyuhyun handed him a spoon and started eating with his own. 

Zhou Mi watched for a while before dipping his spoon into the bowl and giving it a lick. His whole face brightened. 

"I like this." He lapped at his spoon happily before pausing. "It tastes like… a little hurt?"

"That's the chili," Kyuhyun told him. "It's spicy - it does burn a little." 

After dinner, they watched some more TV. Whenever Kyuhyun laughed, Zhou Mi would echo it. Initially Zhou Mi's laughter occurred several seconds afterwards, but over the course of the night his reaction became faster, until Zhou Mi was laughing only a split second after Kyuhyun. 

Finally it was time for bed. 

"So," he asked Zhou Mi, "I'm going to bed. I don't suppose you sleep?"

Zhou Mi shook his head. "I don't need to sleep." His chin lowered to his chest and he said quietly. "You could power me off." 

Was that what Ryeowook did with Zhou Mi when he didn't require him? It seemed a bit cruel to Kyuhyun. Perhaps that was the wrong word to be using when thinking of something that was a collection of electronic parts, but it didn't look like Zhou Mi wanted to be powered off. 

Was Zhou Mi even capable of wanting things? 

"Do you want to be powered off? Or would you rather I leave you on?"

Zhou Mi's head raised to look at him. "You're my owner," he replied simply. "I will obey your orders." 

Kyuhyun frowned. He wasn't sure that he liked this whole ownership thing. "As your owner, I want you to choose. On or off?" 

Zhou Mi blinked at him before responding. "On." 

"On it is. I'm going to bed, are you okay by yourself? You can watch TV as long as you keep the volume down, and there's books on the bookshelf you can read." Did androids even need to be entertained? Perhaps Zhou Mi would go into hibernation mode or something. Kyuhyun was starting to wish that Zhou Mi had come with an instruction manual.

Zhou Mi nodded.

"Okay then. Good night, Zhou Mi."

"Good night, Kyuhyun," he parroted.

 

*

 

When Kyuhyun woke up, he was a little apprehensive. He hoped that his apartment was okay. He knew that Ryeowook wouldn't have brought Zhou Mi over to his apartment if the android had been dangerous, but it was evident from the day before that Zhou Mi was like a child. There were many things he hadn't learnt yet, and Kyuhyun hadn't figured out the breadth of that ignorance. 

Kyuhyun laid in bed for a while, listening. The apartment was quiet and still, and there were no noises coming from the living room - not even the low key hum of the television. Finally, he pushed his covers aside and headed out. 

Zhou Mi was sitting on the floor by his bookshelf, flipping through a book. He looked up and smiled when Kyuhyun approached. 

"Good morning," Kyuhyun said, taking a quick look around to make sure nothing was broken. He was relieved to see that it looked the same as when he'd gone to bed last night, apart from a few books by Zhou Mi's side. The TV in the corner was switched on, although it had been muted, and it was showing cartoons again. 

"Morning. The first part of period of the day, extending from dawn," Zhou Mi said solemnly.

Kyuhyun noticed that one of the books Zhou Mi had pulled out was a dictionary. "Did you read the dictionary last night?"

"Dictionary. Something that contains a selection of the words of a language that provides information about the words' meanings and pronunciations. Yes!" 

Kyuhyun lowered himself to the floor next to him, crossing his legs. "Did you read the whole thing?"

"Yes!" Zhou Mi said chirpily, eyes bright. "I read them all."

"You read all the books? In the bookshelf?" There were at least fifty books, ranging from non-fiction to novels to comics. 

Zhou Mi nodded. "Uh huh. Do you have any more?" 

"Not here, but… I'll get you some more later," Kyuhyun promised. Perhaps he'd show Zhou Mi the internet, and that would be enough to keep him entertained. For now, Kyuhyun needed to shower and go to work. He stood up, patting Zhou Mi on the shoulder, and left for the bathroom. 

Kyuhyun was busy washing his hair and mulling over his day when he opened his eyes and saw it. 

His heart stopped and he let out an involuntary shriek, backing into the glass of the shower cubicle. 

The spider sitting on the shower tiles, clear of the spray, eyed him balefully with its multiple eyes. Kyuhyun watched it nervously as he rinsed his hair, to ensure that it didn't come any closer.

All of a sudden the shower door was wrenched open. Kyuhyun shrieked again, even louder than when he'd seen the spider, wincing as shampoo leaked into his eye. 

"Zhou Mi!" 

"You yelled and it sounded like you were in trouble! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Kyuhyun shouted, trying to push Zhou Mi away from the shower as well as keep an eye on the spider. 

"Oh," Zhou Mi said, staring at Kyuhyun's crotch, apparently satisfied that Kyuhyun was unharmed. "We're the same. You have one too." 

Kyuhyun blushed and covered himself with his hands. This was incredibly _awkward_ \- he couldn't believe that his android was checking him out. 

Zhou Mi tilted his head and said, "Mine's bigger though. Why?"

"OUT. Please Zhou Mi, wait outside." 

Without another word, Zhou Mi turned on his heel and left.

Once Kyuhyun had finished showering and dressing himself, he left the bathroom to find Zhou Mi standing outside the door. 

"I don't understand why you asked me to leave," Zhou Mi said when he saw him. 

"Because…" Kyuhyun stuttered. "Because people don't like it when other people see them naked." 

"Why not?" Zhou Mi asked. 

"Because… because it's not decent. People don't show their bodies off to others."

"Why not?" Zhou Mi repeated. "Everyone has a body?" He looked down at his own. "I have one too. Do you want to see mine?" He started pulling his shirt up, to which Kyuhyun had to hastily stop him.

"No, no, people just don't share their bodies with each other. Particularly the…" Kyuhyun waved his hand around his groin. 

"Ever?"

"Ahh, unless they really really like someone. Then maybe." This conversation was going too deep too early in the morning. How to explain decency to an android? There were so many things that Kyuhyun just _knew_ , social conventions that had been ingrained as he grew up, that were impossible to explain. He tried again. "People have rules, okay? They don't always make sense, but they're necessary to exist in society. It keeps everything peaceful and helps us to get along with one another."

Zhou Mi nodded, as if he understood. "Rules."

"So this is just one of those rules. You don't show off your body to just anyone, particularly the ummm - " Kyuhyun waved his hand awkwardly again,"- if you're a boy. Girls have different rules."

"Okay," Zhou Mi said slowly. "I think I understand." 

Kyuhyun heaved a silent sigh of relief. "So no more walking in on me in the shower, okay?" 

"Even if you scream? What if you're in trouble?"

"Only if I shout for you," Kyuhyun amended, just in case he required saving from killer spiders one day.

 

*

 

Kyuhyun returned home from work to an empty apartment. He'd left Zhou Mi on the couch with Kyuhyun's laptop, after teaching the android how to use the internet. Zhou Mi had been rapt at all the information available - "I can search for _anything_?".

"Zhou Mi?" Kyuhyun shouted as he raced through the rooms in his apartment. There was no tall android anywhere, and it wasn't like he was sized to fit in a cupboard. Where the hell was he? "Zhou Mi, where are you?" 

Just as he was about to go into a full blown panic mode, thinking of all the ways Ryeowook was going to kill him, there was a knock on the door. He opened it to find Zhou Mi smiling at him.

"Where the hell have you been?" he exclaimed, pulling Zhou Mi inside. He was so relieved to see him that he hugged him tightly. 

"I found a library!" Zhou Mi babbled, not making any move to hug Kyuhyun back, his arms hanging loosely by his side. 

"A library?" 

"Yes, a library is a place that contains books and other materials for reading and borrowing."

Kyuhyun wanted to snark at him and tell him that he knew what a library was, but he also knew that Zhou Mi wouldn't understand the sarcasm. He patted him down anxiously, just to ensure that no harm had come to him. Zhou Mi seemed entirely intact, although Kyuhyun did find leaves in his normally tidy hair. He reached up to pluck them out, and brushed Zhou Mi's fringe to one side so his eyes could be seen. 

"I looked it up on the internet," Zhou Mi said proudly. "And I looked up a map and walked there and read books! I couldn't borrow any though because I don't have a card. Do you have a card?" After removing his shoes he let Kyuhyun lead him into the living room as he chattered on about the library, and all the books, and how the library had a garden and he'd sat underneath a tree for a little while, and did Kyuhyun know that butterflies were really pretty and that they're originally caterpillars and wasn't that amazing? 

Finally Kyuhyun interrupted him. "That's really nice, but you can't just - you can't leave without telling me, okay? I was worried because I didn't know where you were." Kyuhyun couldn't help the scolding tone in his voice. Apparently being an android owner was a little like looking after a small child. 

Zhou Mi blinked at him, pausing in the middle of his monologue about caterpillars and cocoons. "But… you left today and I didn't know where you were?" 

At that Kyuhyun felt slightly guilty. That morning he'd been in a hurry, having taken time out from his usual morning routine to show Zhou Mi the internet. It had left little time to get ready, and he'd rushed out the door after seeing Zhou Mi seemingly content. The thought that Zhou Mi might wonder where he was hadn't even crossed his mind. 

Kyuhyun found himself apologising to Zhou Mi, as well as a promise that he wouldn't go anywhere without telling Zhou Mi where he was. He ended up explaining the concept of work _("employment, a form of industry, as a means of earning one's livelihood!")_ as well as showing Zhou Mi the location of his office on a map. With that, Zhou Mi seemed happy to promise that he would do the same - he wouldn't leave the apartment without telling Kyuhyun where he was. Kyuhyun showed him how to send an email so he could contact him while he was at work, and then he wondered if perhaps he should buy Zhou Mi a cellphone.

Then he had a mental pause. Zhou Mi was an _android_ and here he was thinking of him as a person. Androids didn't need cellphones. Did they? It would make things easier, but… he was still an android. 

It was starting to hurt Kyuhyun's head so he decided it was a conundrum for another day. He still had chores to do and dinner to be cooked before bedtime. 

Zhou Mi hovered as Kyuhyun started the washing machine, looking rapt as the front loader filled and he could see the clothes spinning through the clear glass in the front. He seemed content to sit there and watch the clothes spinning through the window, so Kyuhyun left him there, sitting cross legged, nose practically pressed to the glass. 

After a while Zhou Mi left the laundry to find Kyuhyun, who was in the kitchen preparing his dinner. The rice cooker had just finished cooking.

"How does the washing machine work?"

"Well," Kyuhyun had to think hard about how best to explain it. "You put your clothes in and the washing machine fills with water and sloshes them around for a while before spinning to remove the water." Kyuhyun removed the lid of the rice cooker, stirring the contents with a rice paddle. 

Zhou Mi made a little frowny expression, obviously not satisfied with Kyuhyun's simplistic explanation, before getting distracted with what Kyuhyun was doing. "What's that?" 

"This? This is rice." Kyuhyun pointed to the bag of raw rice sitting on the bench. "That's the original state - it goes into the rice cooker with water and comes out like this."

"How does it work?" Zhou Mi asked, leaning down to look at the machine. 

Kyuhyun did his best to explain the mechanics of the machine while trying to stop Zhou Mi from picking it up and inspecting the bottom. "Look! Sit down!" he finally said, a little exasperated. He hadn't realised when Ryeowook dumped Zhou Mi on him that he'd be basically babysitting an overgrown child. 

Zhou Mi slunk into a chair, shoulders slumped, finally quiet.

If Ryeowook's aim in building Zhou Mi was to blur the line between human and machine, he'd done an incredible job. Zhou Mi's reactions - Kyuhyun had to keep reminding himself that was just the personality he'd been programmed with - were so convincingly human. Zhou Mi was curious and guileless, with an innocence of a young child, and yet at the same time he was intelligent, learning things faster than any person ever could. 

Kyuhyun really needed to speak to Ryeowook. What had he created? 

 

*

 

Kyuhyun woke up slowly, thankful that there was two days of the week where he could wake naturally without the blaring sound of an alarm. Just like the previous day, the first day that he'd woken with Zhou Mi in his apartment, he laid in bed listening for a while. 

Unlike the previous morning, when it had been quiet and still, this one came with noises of muttering and clattering, just audible through the walls. 

Zhou Mi gave him a smile when Kyuhyun entered the living room, and if Kyuhyun hadn't known better he would have thought it was a guilty one. Zhou Mi was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, having pushed the coffee table to one side, with a screwdriver in his hands. "Good morning," he said brightly, as if he wasn't surrounded by parts of Kyuhyun's TV. It appeared that he'd spent the past few hours taking the entire thing apart.

"What have you done??" And where on earth had Zhou Mi found the screwdriver from? Kyuhyun didn't even realise he owned tools. 

"I wanted to know how it worked," Zhou Mi told him. 

"You couldn't have just looked it up?" 

Zhou Mi tilted his head. "I wanted to see inside," he said patiently, like it was blatantly obvious that he couldn't possibly understand until he'd personally disassembled it. "I wanted to see how different it was from the laptop screen." 

Oh no, had Zhou Mi spent the entire evening dismantling all of Kyuhyun's appliances? Did that mean he had also opened up the laptop? Did Kyuhyun now need a new computer? Perhaps he needed to rethink leaving Zhou Mi turned on at night. 

"I'll put it back together," Zhou Mi continued, inspecting something that Kyuhyun assumed was the green circuit board. 

Kyuhyun gave up. "You know what, you do that. I'm going to have breakfast."

Zhou Mi sat up straight, interest piqued. "Are you making something? Are you going to be using a machine?" 

Kyuhyun was just going to make coffee and pour himself a bowl of cereal. He definitely didn't need Zhou Mi hovering trying to play with any more appliances. 

"No," he told him sharply, pointing at him sternly. "Put my TV back together." 

Kyuhyun left, as satisfied as he could be that Zhou Mi was going to obey his instruction. If he needed a new TV he was going to send the bill to Ryeowook. 

He did need to speak to his friend about other things - it would be good to pay Ryeowook and Yesung a visit today. Ryeowook, being self employed, didn't work regular hours but during the weekend he tended to be at home as Yesung's carers weren't around. It'd been a couple of weeks since Kyuhyun had seen Yesung, and a visit was far overdue. He decided that he'd stop by the store beforehand and buy him some magazines and snacks before heading over. 

A couple of hours later, after exchanging a couple of text messages with Ryeowook, Kyuhyun head for his home. Zhou Mi had almost finished putting the TV back together, and seemed fine with staying behind to finish it off. That was fortunate as Ryeowook had specifically requested that Kyuhyun not bring him - at least, not this time. 

Ryeowook greeted him with a hug when he arrived, whispering warningly into his ear, "Sorry, he's a bit cranky today. Don't mention Zhou Mi in front of him." 

Kyuhyun nodded, toeing off his shoes and removing his coat before heading into the other room. Yesung was in his usual chair, bright rainbow quilt draped over his knees, staring moodily at the TV, even though it didn't appear that he was actually watching it.

"Hey," Kyuhyun said, handing over the bag of items he'd purchased on the way over, and Yesung just grunted in acknowledgement, taking it and placing it in his lap. 

Ryeowook had followed Kyuhyun into the room, and asked him, "Do you want a cup of tea? Do you want one Sungie?" 

Kyuhyun replied in the positive, and Yesung gave another noncommittal grunt. 

"Kyu, why don't you come and help me?" Ryeowook suggested, obviously doing his best to ignore the tense atmosphere in the room. 

Alone in the kitchen, Ryeowook turned to him, apologising again. "Sorry, he's having a bad day. Actually, it's been a really bad week."

Ryeowook didn't really need to apologise. Things had been difficult since Yesung's accident. While it had been over a year ago, he still suffered a lot of physical pain, but it was the emotional toll that had been the hardest. Prior to the accident he'd been incredibly active and independent, and he'd found having to rely on Ryeowook and other people particularly difficult.

"You mentioned he didn't like Zhou Mi?" Kyuhyun queried as they waited for the kettle to boil. Ryeowook clicked his tongue in recollection and nodded. "Why?"

"Initially my intention for Zhou Mi was to be a - sort of - companion for him. That's why I put so much work into him, to make his programming as human like as possible. I wasn't trying to replace Yesung's carers, I just thought… because I'm not around much during the week, that he might enjoy having a companion." Ryeowook pulled the milk out of the fridge, pouring a splash into each mug. "Also, in time I thought that Zhou Mi could help him be more independent." Kyuhyun knew that Yesung was paralysed from the waist down, but he still had the full use of his arms. He could still lead a relatively normal life, with adjustments for his disability. The problem was that he wasn't mentally ready for it, hadn't been able to accept that his life had changed in such a drastic way. "Yesung resents relying on other people so much that I thought a robot might be better." 

"But?"

"But Yesung hated him. He said Zhou Mi was creepy and that I'd gone too far, that I was trying to replace him. We had a huge fight, and he accused me of caring more for my androids than for him." Ryeowook sighed, looking deflated. "He didn't even give me a chance to explain that Zhou Mi was for him. That's why I had to bring him over - Yesung completely lost it and threatened to smash him to pieces. I spent over a year working on Zhou Mi, I couldn't just let him be destroyed." He handed Kyuhyun a mug. "What do you think of him though? Is his behaviour realistic? What have you done with him so far?"

Kyuhyun found Zhou Mi so convincing that every now and again he had to remind himself that he was just an android. "He's very lifelike, and… I haven't really done anything with him? He's mostly been hanging out at the apartment. Oh, I showed him how to use the internet and he found a public library all by himself."

Ryeowook grinned. "That's incredible. Man, I wish I could've kept him around to see all this." 

"He did dismantle my TV. You're going to owe me a new one if he can't put it back together." Kyuhyun found that he wasn't genuinely mad though. After he'd gotten over the shock, he did find it a bit amusing. "He seems to be obsessed with how things work. I bet I'll come home today and find that he's taken something else apart in my absence." It was kind of cute how curious he was, how he had this need to find out how things worked. 

They took the tea out to Yesung, and Kyuhyun sat with him for a while. Yesung had changed the channel while Kyuhyun and Ryeowook were in the kitchen, and now showing was a documentary about sea life. It was more interesting that Kyuhyun initially thought, and after watching it for a while Yesung's mood improved. They ended up chatting after the show ended, Ryeowook awkwardly trying to join the conversation, before Kyuhyun had to say goodbye and head home.

Before he left, Ryeowook walked him to the door, and they agreed that Kyuhyun would bring Zhou Mi to Ryeowook's workshop the following week. Ryeowook was particularly interested in seeing how Zhou Mi was faring now that he'd spent some time in Kyuhyun's company, and curious to see how his programmed personality was evolving. 

Back at home, Kyuhyun hoped that Zhou Mi was in the apartment and hadn't taken it upon himself to go wandering again. He hadn't received any emails while he'd been at Ryeowook's, so he assumed - hoped - that Zhou Mi had found things at home to keep himself entertained. 

In the living room the TV was back in position and switched on, playing what looked like scenes from a fashion show - models walking up and down a catwalk. However, Zhou Mi wasn't in the living room. Instead Kyuhyun found him sitting on the kitchen floor, the door to the pantry wide open, with his finger in a jar of peanut butter. 

"Kyuhyun!" he said brightly, a smear of the spread on his cheek, and what looked like flour in his hair. Kyuhyun suppressed a sigh. Judging by all the open packets and jars that Kyuhyun scattered around him, it appeared that Zhou Mi had spent the afternoon going through all the food in Kyuhyun's pantry. 

"What have you done now, Mi?" Kyuhyun asked him, grabbing a paper towel off the bench and leaning down to clean his cheek before brushing the flour out of his hair. 

"Tasting things!" Zhou Mi blinked up at him happily and for some reason Kyuhyun felt a flush of exasperated fondness. "Identifying flavours." He smacked his lips together and wriggled a little. "Peanut butter makes my mouth strange."

"It's sticky," Kyuhyun agreed. "It makes your mouth stick together." He lowered himself to the floor next to Zhou Mi. "What else have you tried?"

"Everything!" Zhou Mi rattled off a list of items - flour, sugar, salt, rice, jam, chocolate, soy sauce, cornflakes, peanut butter - and pointed up to the spice rack screwed to the inside of the pantry door. "And all the little jars."

"Those are spices."

"Some were strange," Zhou Mi said earnestly, eyes wide, before screwing up his nose. Kyuhyun withheld a laugh, imagining Zhou Mi eating spoonfuls of spices. 

"You're not supposed to eat a lot of them - they get used sparingly in cooking." 

"Cooking. The practice or skill in preparing food by combining, mixing and heating ingredients." Zhou Mi paused in thought. "Can you show me how to cook?"

Kyuhyun's cooking skills were pretty subpar. He could only cook simple things - noodles, rice, steamed vegetables and steak. He agreed but Zhou Mi would probably outstrip his skills after one session. Maybe he could find some cooking shows for Zhou Mi to watch.

Zhou Mi had moved on to a jar of honey, unscrewing the lid and giving the contents of a sniff. "Honey. A fluid made by bees and other insects from nectar collected from flowers," he said out loud, dipping his finger into it before sticking it into his mouth. "It's sweet like sugar." He scooped into the jar for another taste. "Sticky," he said around the finger in his mouth. 

Zhou Mi replaced the lid on the honey jar and pushed it back on the shelf. "Kyuhyun?" 

"Yes?" 

"I need to charge my battery." Now that he mentioned it, Kyuhyun noticed that Zhou Mi was moving a bit more sluggishly than normal, and one of his eyes seemed a bit droopy. 

"Oh of course. What do you need?"

"Just a power point," Zhou Mi told him. "Ryeowook gave me a cable. But… can I lie on the bed? I want to properly catalogue the things I've learnt while I charge." 

Kyuhyun's apartment only had one bedroom, so he took Zhou Mi through to his bed. He wondered if Zhou Mi had investigated his room while Kyuhyun was at work. He hadn't forbidden it, and with Zhou Mi's curiosity he assumed he had. Not that there was anything to be embarrassed about, perhaps with the exception of certain _supplies_ in the drawer of his bedside table, but he figured that Zhou Mi wouldn't know what that stuff was anyway. 

At least, he hoped not. Hopefully Zhou Mi hadn't found that corner of the internet yet. 

Zhou Mi plugged a cord into the power point by the bed, and then hopped up, stretching out on to his back. He'd had to remove his shirt to access his charging point, which was a small plug located under his right armpit. Zhou Mi closed his eyes, but his eyelashes flickered, and Kyuhyun assumed he was doing the cataloguing thing he'd mentioned before. But after a few seconds that stopped, and Zhou Mi's simulated breathing - the rise and fall of his chest - gradually slowed, until he was completely and utterly inert in a way that only an lifeless object could be. 

In this state, Zhou Mi's mouth was set in a neutral expression, and it made Kyuhyun realise that with the exception of the first day he'd arrived, Kyuhyun had rarely seen him without a smile on his face. It was odd seeing him like this. Kyuhyun wondered if his skin had also cooled, and he thought about touching him to find out. 

"I can still feel and hear you standing there," Zhou Mi said, eyes still closed tightly, and rest of him motionless. Kyuhyun practically jumped in surprise and a flash of embarrassed shame.

"Sorry, I was just..." Kyuhyun trailed off, not sure how to explain what he'd been doing. 

"Lie down?" Zhou Mi suggested. He opened his eyes, lifting his head a little to look at Kyuhyun. He blinked at him slowly, but the rest of him stayed still. Kyuhyun climbed up, lying on his back next to Zhou Mi and staring up at the ceiling.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your cataloguing."

Zhou Mi turned his head to look at him. "You're not, it's happening in the background. It's just faster if I shut down some of my other processes. I can still talk." 

"I went to see Ryeowook before," Kyuhyun told him, flipping on to his side to face him. "And Yesung."

"Oh." The light in Zhou Mi's eyes dimmed a little. 

"Ryeowook wants to see you. I'll take you to his workshop next week." 

"He does?" That light brightened again. "I'd like to see him - and the workshop. That's where I was created." Kyuhyun could see the thinking occurring behind his eyes before he spoke again. "Kyuhyun, what was it like for you? When you were created?"

It was another one of Zhou Mi's innocent questions that stumped him. "I can't really remember," he confessed. "When humans are born, we don't remember anything until we get older because our brains aren't developed enough." Kyuhyun's earliest memory was of his mother bathing him. He supposed it was when he was about three or four, after they had moved to the house he grew up in, because he remembered the turquoise tiles in the bathroom. The details were hazy though, and all he could really recall was the water lapping around his waist as his mother washed his shoulders with a cloth. "What was it like for you?"

"One day I opened my eyes and I existed," Zhou Mi said simply. "And before that I didn't." 

"I suppose that's a bit like humans then. One day we open our eyes and we exist." 

"Being powered off is…" Zhou Mi said slowly, like he wasn't sure if he should say it. "It's like not existing for a moment. And then I open my eyes and I exist again." He frowned, a little crease appearing in between his eyebrows "It's very jarring. Abrupt. I never know how much time has passed. Is that what sleeping is like for you?" 

That was definitely not what sleeping was like, but how to explain it to an android? "No, when people sleep, we dream. Even though we're asleep we still know we're alive."

"What's dreaming like?" 

"It's like… a stream of images and ideas and emotions. Sometimes it's like being in a movie, or watching a movie, or directing a movie. Sometimes they're completely normal and other times completely surreal. Last night I dreamt I was climbing a ladder in a circus tent, climbing so high that the people below me were just specks." 

"It sounds interesting," a note of wistfulness in Zhou Mi's voice. "I wish I could dream." 

Surely Ryeowook could write a program to give Zhou Mi dreams? Kyuhyun made a note to himself to ask him. 

It seemed like Zhou Mi's pondering was over, because he was silent for a while - for so long that Kyuhyun just about drifted off to sleep. 

"I'm glad you're my person," Zhou Mi said softly. Kyuhyun opened his eyes and the room was dim, night having fallen during the time they'd been lying on the bed, but Zhou Mi's eyes glowed in the darkness. 

Kyuhyun didn't know how to respond. Should he say _I'm glad I'm your person_? Was he glad? Zhou Mi had been thrust upon him, and he was turning out to be a large responsibility for something that was meant to be a gift. 

Enough time had passed by now that any response would seem awkward, so Kyuhyun didn't say anything, and eventually he drifted off to sleep, his android lying motionless next to him. 

 

*

 

"Where are we going?" Zhou Mi asked as Kyuhyun crouched down to put on his shoes. 

"To the mall," Kyuhyun replied. "We're going to buy you another outfit." He'd realised the night before, after he'd awoken from his unplanned nap, that Zhou Mi didn't have any other clothes apart from the ones that he was wearing. Being slightly taller and much broader than Kyuhyun, he couldn't wear much of Kyuhyun's items. Plus Kyuhyun figured Zhou Mi would like to see the mall. There'd be a ton of things for him to investigate. 

"Mall. A large enclosed shopping area from which traffic is excluded. Often multi storied," Zhou Mi said to himself. 

Zhou Mi trotted after Kyuhyun as they left the apartment building. "How are we getting there?"

"I thought we could walk," Kyuhyun told him. "We might take the bus home." 

"Okay!" Zhou Mi said, matching his strides to Kyuhyun's so they stepped at the same time. "I like walking." So far Kyuhyun hadn't found anything that Zhou Mi _didn't_ like, with the exception of being powered off. 

The sun shone down on them as they walked. It was a nice day, with the temperature surprisingly mild even though winter was just around the corner. Being a Sunday there were only a few other people out on the streets, and the roads were quiet, with only the occasional car driving by.

Zhou Mi greeted everyone they walked past with a chirpy, "Hello!" 

At the mall, Zhou Mi stared in awe at the large building. It was a large one - several stories tall, with an atrium in the centre that was covered with a large clear dome to let in natural light. They took the escalator to the second floor, Zhou Mi stamping a couple of times on the steps as it took them up. 

And Kyuhyun knew that _The Question_ was coming.

"How does it work?" Zhou Mi asked just before they stepped off, and Kyuhyun just had to laugh. Predictable. He did his best to explain escalators as they headed to the closest clothing store. 

Once inside the store, Kyuhyun set Zhou Mi loose. "Off you go. Pick something." 

Zhou Mi blinked at him. "I get to choose?"

"Of course."

Zhou Mi looked down at what he was currently wearing. Ryeowook didn't have the best fashion sense (though neither did Kyuhyun if he was being honest) and Zhou Mi was in a pair of black pants and a faded t-shirt. "Does it have to look like this?"

"No, you can wear whatever you like." Kyuhyun crossed his fingers and hoped that Zhou Mi didn't pick out a dress. Not that he would stop him - if his android wanted to wear a dress, he could wear a dress for all he cared - but it would make the bus ride home interesting. "Pick some things to try on," he suggested. 

He followed Zhou Mi as he wandered around the racks, watching as Zhou Mi pulled out items, touching the fabric, holding them up, before eventually putting everything back. 

"Do you need some help?" A perky saleswoman approached him. 

"Oh…" Zhou Mi looked back at Kyuhyun, who gave him an encouraging nod. "Okay?"

Zhou Mi was led away, and Kyuhyun found a place to sit while he waited. It was still early and relatively quiet in the store, with only a few customers browsing. Kyuhyun played with his phone, reading the news, and before too long Zhou Mi came up to him, followed by the saleswoman. 

"What do you think?" 

He was dressed in a pair of dark jeans that fitted much better than the pants he'd had on before, and a grey sweater with long black cuffs that hung over his hands. He also looked very pleased with himself, smiling super brightly, and toying with the edges of the cuffs. 

"I like it," Kyuhyun told him honestly, and Zhou Mi smiled even brighter. "Why don't you find a couple more outfits while we're here?" 

Zhou Mi and the saleswoman selected some more items, and while Zhou Mi changed back into his old clothes, Kyuhyun picked up a few packs of socks and underwear for him. He headed to the counter to pay for everything. 

"What's that?" Zhou Mi asked when Kyuhyun pulled out his credit card, looking interested as Kyuhyun punched in his PIN. 

"It's a credit card," Kyuhyun explained as he waited for the receipt. He could hear Zhou Mi muttering the definition to himself as he placed the card back into his wallet. 

"How does money work?" Zhou Mi queried as they left the store, shopping bag dangling from his hand and swinging to and fro. "Where does it come from?"

"You use money to buy things," Kyuhyun explained. "And to get money, most people have jobs."

"Money can be exchanged for goods and services," Zhou Mi muttered, before asking, "Why don't people work directly for the things they need? Why can't I just work for the clothes?" 

"Because… sometimes that's not possible or feasible. Older societies used to be based on a trade and barter system. But money evolved because people place a value on work and often that doesn't directly correlate to the value of goods."

"Hmm. Humans make things very complicated," Zhou Mi said, a statement that Kyuhyun quietly agreed with. "But I like it! There's so much to learn." 

It took a while to do a lap of the mall, Zhou Mi's attention constantly distracted by each store. The electronics one was the hardest to pull him away from, with all the shiny lights and gadgets drawing Zhou Mi in like a moth. 

"We have these things at home," Kyuhyun grumbled, patience finally worn out after thirty minutes of Zhou Mi flitting from gadget to gadget. So far they'd inspected every TV, every fridge, every washing machine, every dryer, and every computer displayed in the shop, and now Zhou Mi was on to the vacuum cleaners. 

Zhou Mi blinked at him, in the midst of peering down the vacuum's hose pipe. "But these look different," he explained. 

"They all do the same thing." 

Zhou Mi tilted his head at him, appraising his expression, before putting the hose down. "Kyuhyun, are you annoyed?" 

"A little," Kyuhyun said, because there was no point in not owning his feelings. "But also hungry and a little bored." 

Zhou Mi inspected his face for a little longer before nodding. "Annoyed. Hungry. Bored. Okay! Let's go!"

And just like that Zhou Mi was ready to leave. They walked to the foodcourt for lunch - at least, Kyuhyun did. He'd thought that Zhou Mi was right behind him but when he turned around he had disappeared. 

"Zhou Mi? Mi?" He retraced his steps back to the electronics shop, ducking in and doing a loop to ensure that he hadn't gone back. No luck. Where the hell had that stupid android gone? Now he was hungry AND worried, and it wasn't a good combination. 

If he was Zhou Mi, where would he be? Kyuhyun had no idea. He walked back to the clothing store, but Zhou Mi wasn't there either. He did several laps of the mall before stumbling upon him by chance. 

He was standing outside a pet shop, in a small crowd of children, his hands clasped tightly together in front of him as he stared at the animals in the window. 

"Mi! There you are." Kyuhyun was too relieved to see him to be angry, and when Zhou Mi turned to him his eyes were sparkling. 

"I found puppies!" Zhou Mi said with excitement. In the window one puppy was chewing on another's ear, and another was asleep in the corner, chubby belly on display. 

"I can see that," Kyuhyun told him dryly, taking his hand to lead him away. "We have to go now." 

Zhou Mi left without protest but he asked as they walked away. "Could I have a puppy?" 

"I don't think so…"

"Why not?"

Why? Because… that would be ridiculous, wouldn't it? An android having a pet? Besides, Kyuhyun didn't have space in his apartment for an animal - a 1.84m android was more than enough. He explained the space issue to Zhou Mi, who nodded as if he understood. 

But then he asked, "how about a kitten?"

Again, Kyuhyun had to tell him no. "No kittens either." 

Zhou Mi hummed a little as they walked to the floor court. "Hamster?"

Kyuhyun's answer was short and firm. "Still no."

 

*

 

As they waited for the bus, Kyuhyun handed Zhou Mi a shopping bag. Kyuhyun had eaten lunch, letting Zhou Mi taste his meal, and then he'd picked up a few more things before it was time to head home. 

"This is for you."

Zhou Mi peered into the bag, reaching in and pulling out the box inside. "What is it?"

"It's a cellphone."

Kyuhyun had decided, after having lost Zhou Mi for the second time in three days, that it would just be easier if he had one. It was only a simple no frills model, but Zhou Mi was overjoyed to receive it. 

The battery had enough charge to turn the phone on, and Kyuhyun took it from him momentarily to enter his phone number, and to show him how to text and make phone calls, and Zhou Mi played with it as they rode the bus home. 

Kyuhyun's phone beeped with a message. 

_hello!_

Zhou Mi leaned over his shoulder, grinning down at Kyuhyun's screen when his message showed up. 

"It works! So I can message or call you at any time?"

"Within reason," Kyuhyun warned. "If I'm at work, a text message is better. I have patients so I can't always talk on the phone." 

"Okay," Zhou Mi said, swiping at the screen. 'And you can call or message me!" 

"Yes." Then Kyuhyun added," And before you ask I don't know how it works." 

"Oh." Zhou Mi looked at him, his eyes big. "But... how _does_ it work?" 

Kyuhyun showed him how to search for things online using his phone and Zhou Mi spent the rest of the trip home happy and quiet. 

 

*

 

_hello!! it's zhou mi! I'm at ryeowook's workshop!!＼（＾▽＾）／_

Kyuhyun read the message from Zhou Mi and smiled to himself. Zhou Mi's messages were always littered with exclamation marks and emoticons - a fair expression of his personality. He didn't know where Zhou Mi had picked up the emoticon thing from, but he definitely used them a lot. Kyuhyun typed him a reply. 

_will you be there long? should i stop by after work?_ Kyuhyun wondered how Zhou Mi had gotten to Ryeowook's place. It was a long walk, and he hadn't left Zhou Mi with any money to take the bus. Had Ryeowook stopped by the apartment to pick him up? 

_yes!!! ryeowook wants you to come by! ｡^‿^｡_

Kyuhyun responded and then put his phone away, ready for his next patient. 

After work he headed straight to the workshop, located in a single storey warehouse on the edges of the business district. The workshop consisted of a large single room, two walls covered with floor to ceiling shelves that held an assortment of boxes, each meticulously labelled. There was a large bench in the middle where Ryeowook did most of his building, with machines and power tools tucked away in the corner. 

Kyuhyun entered to find Zhou Mi sitting up on the bench, next to another android that Ryeowook appeared to be working on, his laptop open and plugged in, a cable disappearing up the back of the android's shirt 

"Kyuhyun!" Zhou Mi grinned down at him, swinging his legs. 

Ryeowook lifted a hand off his laptop and waved. "Hi Kyu." He took a look at Zhou Mi, who was still smiling widely. "Wow he really lights up around you."

"Kyuhyun is my person!" Zhou Mi chirped.

Ryeowook looked thoughtful. "Yes, he is, isn't he." 

The other android slowly turned his head to gaze at Kyuhyun. He was shorter than Zhou Mi, although it looked like he was taller than Ryeowook, and even though he was attractive with his big eyes and young looking face, there was something not quite right with him.

"This is Donghae," Ryeowook explained. "He's for a customer. But he's not ready yet… I can't seem to replicate what I did with Zhou Mi." 

"Donghae just needs a person too," Zhou Mi told them both. He had taken Donghae's hand in his, and was currently leaning his head on Donghae's shoulder. 

"I don't think that's it, Zhou Mi," Ryeowook said patiently. From his tone, Kyuhyun felt like this was a continuation of a conversation they'd already had. 

"I think I would know," Zhou Mi said stubbornly. "Hae is like me." 

Donghae turned his head to inspect Zhou Mi before saying, each word coming out slow and ponderous, "I am like Zhou Mi." 

"How is Yesung?" Kyuhyun asked Ryeowook, who'd gone back to working on Donghae. Every now and again Donghae twitched, the outcome of whatever Ryeowook was entering into his computer. 

"Not great," Ryeowook said, worrying his bottom lip in his teeth. "Actually, let's talk outside. I'm finished with Donghae for now." Ryeowook reached under Donghae's shirt to remove the cable, and they left the two androids together while they stepped out.

"Everything okay?" It was starting to get cold with night coming, and Kyuhyun pulled his coat tighter around himself.

"Not really. He's just… not good." Ryeowook shook his head and sighed. "He stopped taking his medication." 

"I'll stop by and talk to him."

"No,' Ryeowook protested. "I wasn't - I know you can't treat him." Kyuhyun knew that he hadn't been asking for that. Ryeowook understood that Kyuhyun couldn't treat Yesung because of their friendship. It was hard though, because increasingly Yesung distrusted strangers, withdrawing into himself more and more. 

"I'll just talk to him," Kyuhyun promised. "Maybe it will help."

"Okay. Thanks." 

They went back inside to find Zhou Mi chatting animatedly into Donghae's ear. It wasn't clear if Donghae completely comprehended Zhou Mi's words, though he did occasionally do a long slow blink. 

Seeing Donghae was really interesting to Kyuhyun. His motor skills and reactions were remarkably different to Zhou Mi's - much slower and very obviously artificial. When Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi had been at the mall the day before, no one had seemed to notice that Zhou Mi was an android, with everyone speaking to him like he was a real human. 

"Home time," Kyuhyun told Zhou Mi. Zhou Mi hopped off the bench, leaning up to wrap his arms around Donghae's waist to give him a hug. 

"Bye Hae," he said to the other android. "Can I come back and see him?" Zhou Mi asked Ryeowook. 

Ryeowook nodded his consent and Zhou Mi gave him a hug too.

Kyuhyun wondered about the hugging. This was a new behaviour - he hadn't seen Zhou Mi do it before, and he'd only been on the receiving end of one from Kyuhyun that evening he had been to the library. Perhaps he'd seen people do it at the mall the other day. 

It was only a short walk to Kyuhyun's car. It was the first time Zhou Mi had seen it, and he was - as with every new experience - fascinated with everything. Kyuhyun managed to get him seated and buckled up, Zhou Mi trailing his fingers all over the dash and leaning down to inspecting the gearstick. 

"How did you get here?" Kyuhyun asked him once he'd started the car. 

"I walked!" Zhou Mi pressed his ear to the dash in front of him, trying to locate the engine noise he could hear. 

"Don't do that," Kyuhyun said mildly. "There's an airbag in there, you could get hurt if there's an accident." 

Not that Zhou Mi could get _hurt_ hurt… but Kyuhyun was sure Ryeowook wouldn't be impressed if an airbag exploded against Zhou Mi's head. 

"Airbag," Zhou Mi repeated. He removed his head but put his hands on the dash instead, fingers twitching in a way that made Kyuhyun uneasy.

"Don't try to get to it!" Kyuhyun warned loudly. "You are NOT to dismantle ANYTHING in my car, okay? I'm utterly and totally serious about this, it's too dangerous." 

Zhou Mi yanked his hands away, placing them in his lap, shrinking down in his chair a little. 

"Are you angry?" Zhou Mi asked timidly. "Why?" Kyuhyun realised that it was the first time he'd spoken to Zhou Mi in such a harsh tone, and he immediately regretted it. 

"Zhou Mi… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you. Just - you can't take my car apart, okay?" 

Zhou Mi agreed with a quiet "okay" before confessing, "I'm programmed to recognise strong emotions, but they're still confusing to me." Kyuhyun turned briefly to Zhou Mi to see him blinking at him. "Mostly I understand why you're happy, but the negative emotions are harder. I'm sorry that I don't understand, I'm doing my best to learn you." He sat there quietly, looking out the front window.

Now Kyuhyun felt like a huge asshole. He had never considered that it anything might be difficult for Zhou Mi. He'd just assumed that, because he was an android, it wouldn't matter. 

"I'm sorry," Kyuhyun told him, thankful that they were almost home as the atmosphere in the car was verging on uncomfortable. "I'm trying to learn you too." He reached over to place a reassuring hand on Zhou Mi's knee. "I guess we're in this together."


	2. Chapter 2

"Where are we going?" Zhou Mi asked, tapping the edges of his seat in his excitement, practically bouncing up and down in the passenger seat. Kyuhyun reached over, placing a hand on his thigh to calm him, but he still sat there quivering under Kyuhyun's touch. 

"To the beach," Kyuhyun said. 

"I like the beach!"

"You've never been to the beach," Kyuhyun pointed out, smile on his face as he drove.

"No, but I've seen it in photos and the TV, and you're taking me there so I like it already!"

Zhou Mi's happiness was contagious, making Kyuhyun laugh, and he was glad that Zhou Mi was excited. Kyuhyun had been busy all week at work, and apart from a few hours in the evenings, he'd barely spent any time with him. Zhou Mi never complained, seemingly able to keep himself busy, but seeing how animated Zhou Mi was at going out together gave Kyuhyun a slight sense of guilt. 

At the beach Kyuhyun parked the car and they crossed the road, walking through the sand dunes to reach the shore. It was a slow walk with Zhou Mi stopping every couple of steps so he could look at things. It was a fairly cold day, the sky grey and looking like it might rain, and when they reached the ocean they found that they had the entire beach to themselves. The coastline was lovely in this area, mostly a large stretch of clean golden sand, though to the right it turned rocky with large boulders and rock pools. 

They headed to the water, removing their shoes and socks and leaving them on a dry patch of sand. Kyuhyun folded up the legs of his pants before leaning down to help Zhou Mi with his. It was freezing this close to the ocean, the temperature causing goosebumps to break out on Kyuhyun's skin and making him shiver. He wished that he'd worn a warmer outfit. 

"You're cold," Zhou Mi stated when he caught Kyuhyun shivering. He took his sweater off and handed it over. "Wear this." 

Kyuhyun refused but Zhou Mi wouldn't take no for an answer, plopping it over Kyuhyun's head. "I don't feel the cold like you do. Wear it." 

Zhou Mi's sweater was cozy, the additional layer helping Kyuhyun retain his heat, and the long sleeves hanging over his hands. Zhou Mi wandered off while he was putting it on, splashing around in the ocean like an overgrown toddler. Soon the bottom of his jeans, despite Kyuhyun folding them up to his knees, were completely soaked.

"Hey Mi, come here!" 

Zhou Mi skipped over, to where Kyuhyun had found an object half dug into the sand - a large seashell. Kyuhyun rinsed it off and then held it up to Zhou Mi's ear. "Listen."

Zhou Mi's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, it sounds like the ocean!" He clasped the shell tightly and listened again. "Can I keep this?" 

"Sure," Kyuhyun told him, and Zhou Mi's smile made up for the lack of sun that day.

Zhou Mi cradled it carefully to his chest and they continued their walk, heading to the rock pools. Kyuhyun pointed out small creatures and plants that made their home in the small pools, with Zhou Mi being particularly taken with the mini crabs that they unearthed under rocks. They even found a starfish, a stunning creature coloured black and blue with eleven arms, and Zhou Mi spent so long looking at it that Kyuhyun's nose became bright red and started to run in the cold. 

When Zhou Mi noticed he scolded Kyuhyun lightly for not saying anything. They gathered up their shoes and headed to the car, shaking off all the sand from their feet before climbing in.

"That was SO GOOD," Zhou Mi said as Kyuhyun drove. The car was warming up, Kyuhyun having cranked the heat up as soon as they got in, and Zhou Mi wriggled happily in his seat, all smug and content. "I liked the beach so so much! I told you that I would." He pet the seashell in his lap like it was a puppy, before holding it back up to his ear. "Thank you so much for taking me." 

Kyuhyun couldn't remember ever being that excited to visit the beach, couldn't recall the joy of hearing the ocean through a seashell, didn't think he'd ever spent 15 minutes watching a seastar slowly wave its arms in a rock pool. It was fun to see Zhou Mi experience things for the first time, his childish enthusiasm sweet and endearing. It made Kyuhyun feel lighter, as if he was also regressing a little under Zhou Mi's influence. 

In the passenger seat Zhou Mi was closely studying the whorls of the seashell, tracing the lines with a long finger.

"You really like it, huh?"

Zhou Mi looked up, eyes sparkling. "You found it for me - of course I like it." 

"It's just a silly shell."

"I appreciate everything that you give me," Zhou Mi said earnestly. It was probably due to his programming, but Kyuhyun had quickly found that Zhou Mi meant everything that he said. He had no concept of sarcasm, had never - to Kyuhyun's knowledge - told a lie. "Before you I had no idea about anything."

Initially Kyuhyun had found Zhou Mi exasperating and troubling, and there had been moments when he'd seriously considered returning him. There had been one instance - the day that Zhou Mi somehow managed to set the alarms of every single electronic device that Kyuhyun owned to go off at 3.35am, that he was _this_ close to demanding that Ryeowook take him back. Or the time Zhou Mi flooded the laundry after he'd managed to open the door to the washing machine while it was filling. Or the time Zhou Mi captured a spider, half the size of his palm, and brought it home to "show" Kyuhyun, sending Kyuhyun almost rocketing through the glass doors of the balcony as he tried to get away.

Now, seeing the android happily listening to the shell for the 100th time, he was glad he hadn't taken him back to Ryeowook. Even though he still found him occasionally exasperating, now it was tinged with affection, and maybe - just maybe - a bit more. 

 

*

 

It had been a really long day. 

Most days Kyuhyun enjoyed his job. He'd gone into medicine because he wanted to help people, and it made him happy to be able to directly make a difference. Being a GP was challenging though, having to be across hundreds of medical topics rather than specialising in one thing, and today had been particularly draining with his schedule booked back to back. He was looking forward to being home. 

Kyuhyun parked his car in the basement car park, and as the elevator reached the first floor, his neighbour Mrs Lee got on. She was in her 80s, but still fit and mentally sharp, living by herself a couple of apartments down. While Kyuhyun was exhausted and not really up to making conversation, she was always very kind, so he did his best to be sociable. 

"Hello Kyuhyun," she said, smiling in that warm manner of hers as the doors closed. "I met your lovely friend this morning." 

For a moment Kyuhyun was confused about who she was talking about. Friend?

"Zhou Mi is such a gorgeous man," she gushed. "So handsome. How long have you been together?" 

"Oh! We're not, he's not my -" Kyuhyun spluttered before trailing off, unsure on how to explain Zhou Mi. Everyone who met Zhou Mi seemed to assume that he was human, and Kyuhyun didn't know the best way to say "actually he's just an android". 

Mrs Lee nudged him with her elbow and gave him a conspiratorial grin. "Oh it's okay. You don't need to hide it from me. It's obvious from the way he talked about you." She sighed happily, her eyes wistful. "Young love." That started her reminiscing about her husband, about the days when they had been young and deeply in love. They'd been together for over 60 years before he passed away the previous November, and it was obvious that she still missed him a lot. 

The elevator arrived on their floor and they walked to her apartment together. Kyuhyun was about to wish her a good night when she stopped him. 

"Hang on a second. I have something for Zhou Mi. Let me just get it." Mrs Lee ducked into her apartment, returning quickly with a bag of her favourite movies. "These are classics," she told Kyuhyun, saying with an almost chiding manner, "I can't believe Zhou Mi hasn't seen them yet. Where have you been hiding him?" 

If only you knew, Kyuhyun thought, giving her a wan smile. He politely thanked her on Zhou Mi's behalf, taking the bag and saying goodbye before making the short walk back to his own apartment. 

"Zhou Mi?" he called out as he entered, removing his shoes and dropping his keys on the small table in the hall. "Are you here?"

"Hello!" came a faint shout from the other room. Kyuhyun went into the kitchen to find Zhou Mi kneeling in front of the dishwasher. The door was open and Zhou Mi had his head stuck inside, butt sticking out. The bench was covered with piles of clean plates and cups, all neatly stacked. 

Kyuhyun leant down and gave him a small pat. "What are you doing there?"

"I did the dishes," came the muffled response. "And now I'm trying to figure out how they came out clean."

"You didn't take anything apart, did you?"

Zhou Mi finally removed himself from the dishwasher, sitting back on his heels, a chastened expression on his face. "No. You said not to. That time in the car." 

Kyuhyun couldn't deny the relief that went through him, but at the same time he was also a bit sad that he'd curbed some of Zhou Mi's natural curiosity. He decided a compromise was in order. 

"How about you ask me first, and if it's safe to - and the item isn't too expensive - then you can dismantle things." 

Zhou Mi smiled at him from the floor. "Okay!" His eyes flicked towards the dishwasher. 

"Not the dishwasher," Kyuhyun stated. "Too expensive." 

"Oh." Zhou Mi was only crestfallen for a moment before it passed and he bounded to his feet. 

Kyuhyun had almost forgotten about the bag of DVDs he was holding. He passed them over with an explanation. 

"So you met Mrs Lee today?" 

Zhou Mi rifled through the contents of the bag, pulling each DVD out and inspecting the covers. "Uh huh. She's so nice! She told me that one of her grandsons is flying in tomorrow - did you know her husband was a pilot? She was a flight attendant for a while - that's how they met." 

Kyuhyun had lived in the apartment complex for three years, and he'd never known that about his neighbour. She'd always just been the elderly lady a couple of doors down. He knew that she had several grandchildren his age because he'd seen them in the corridor, but he'd never gotten to know her, or her husband when he was alive, that well. 

It was a bit shameful, really. 

"She told me all about airplanes," Zhou Mi enthused. "They sound so cool. Can we go see an airplane, Kyuhyun?" Zhou Mi had finished inspecting each DVD, taking them through to the other room to stack neatly by the TV. He didn't wait for Kyuhyun to respond to his question, moving on to the next topic, still chattering about Mrs Lee. "And she's going to teach me how to bake cookies!"

Kyuhyun did a double take when he saw the state of his living room. "Zhou Mi, did you clean?"

Everything was sparkling. Everything. The sliding door to the balcony was so clear it looked like it didn't exist, and every surface was dust free and gleaming in the light coming through. 

"A little," Zhou Mi agreed. "Is it okay?"

It was more than okay, it was great, but… "I appreciate it but you don't need to clean." It felt a bit weird to have someone else doing Kyuhyun's chores. 

"I watched this TV show, and the husband came home from work to a clean house and he was really pleased. So I thought you might like it too."

What on earth had Zhou Mi been watching? Some retro show from the 50s complete with old fashioned and outdated gender roles? Perhaps Kyuhyun needed to police his TV watching to ensure he didn't get any strange ideas. 

"I just wanted to do something nice for you because you've been so good to me. And I know that I'm not very useful, I - "

_Beep beep beeeeeeep_

A shrill alarm sounded from the kitchen, and Zhou Mi stopped in the middle of his sentence, rushing out of the room, leaving Kyuhyun bewildered. He was even more bewildered when the scent of something delicious came drifting into the room. He followed it to the kitchen and found Zhou Mi setting a plate and cutlery on the table. 

"What have you done?"

"I cooked you dinner!" Zhou Mi said proudly. He'd even unearthed candles from somewhere, and they flickered away in the middle of the table. Now Kyuhyun was seriously considering cutting off Zhou Mi's access to daytime TV shows. 

Zhou Mi ushered him into a seat, pressing on his shoulders until he sat down. 

"What did you cook?" Kyuhyun asked him as Zhou Mi pottered around, opening and closing the oven door. Kyuhyun couldn't see exactly what he was doing from his angle. 

"Chicken!"

"And where did you get chicken from…?"

Zhou Mi came to the table, holding a large platter, on top of which was a golden brown roast chicken. He placed it carefully in the middle of the table. "Your freezer." 

"My freezer…" Kyuhyun was starting to have a really bad feeling about this. When had the meat had time to defrost? How long had Zhou Mi roasted it for? 

Zhou Mi sliced carefully in the chicken with a large knife and Kyuhyun held his breath and hoped. 

The exterior looked amazing, golden brown and crispy. The interior however, was still bright red and very obviously raw. Zhou Mi looked so proud as he cut several generous slices, placing them on Kyuhyun's plate. 

Kyuhyun didn't know how to tell him - he was so pleased with himself. He'd gone to all this effort, and how was Zhou Mi meant to know that the chicken wasn't cooked? He'd probably just seen it on whatever weird show he'd been watching. Kyuhyun reached for his hand, tugging on it a little and encouraging him to sit down. 

"Mi… I'm really sorry, but I can't eat this." Kyuhyun used his fork to prod at the meat on his plate. "See how it's pink? That means it's still raw. People can't eat raw chicken, it makes us sick." 

"It's raw?" 

"Yeah. Did you put it in the oven still frozen?"

Zhou Mi nodded. "Does that not work?" 

"No… I'm afraid not… you need to defrost meat before you cook it."

"Oh." Zhou Mi made a sad pouty face at the chicken, like it had personally offended him by not cooking properly. "I did it wrong."

"I really, really appreciate the thought though," Kyuhyun reassured him. "Really. But you don't need to do all this. I can do my own cleaning and my own cooking. Okay?" 

Zhou Mi nodded again, but with the way he was still frowning, Kyuhyun wasn't sure that he understood. He stood up to clear the chicken off the table, walking it over to the rubbish bin to throw it out. 

"Why don't we go out for dinner? There's a nice place around the corner we can walk to?"

"Okay…" Zhou Mi didn't sound very excited, possibly still deflated at his failure. Normally he'd leap at the opportunity to go for a walk, to visit somewhere new, grinning and smiling and practically dragging Kyuhyun out the door. Just as Kyuhyun was going to probe further, to find out what was going on, the moment passed and Zhou Mi jumped to his feet. "Let's go!" 

 

*

 

"Why don't we get some fresh air?" Kyuhyun suggested. He was visiting Yesung again, and his friend was in a particularly bad mood. Yesung grouched unhappily, but he didn't protest at being helped into his wheelchair and wheeled out of the house. 

Autumn was giving way to winter, and it was cool out, their breaths visible in the air. Kyuhyun pushed the chair slowly along the footpath, under the tall trees that still had bright red and orange leaves clinging stubbornly to their branches. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kyuhyun said eventually as they made their way to a park not far from the house. Kyuhyun stopped the wheelchair next to a wooden bench, taking a seat. The bench overlooked a children's playground, and there were a couple of small kids playing on the swings, a parent keeping a watchful eye a few steps away. 

"What is there to talk about?" 

"How you're feeling?" Kyuhyun suggested. 

"I feel shit," Yesung replied, burrowing himself into his scarf and coat. "I always feel like shit." 

"Are you still taking your medication?"

"Fuck," Yesung swore bitterly. "I knew he'd tell you about that. No, I stopped. Because it makes me feel awful, like a zombie, I fucking hate it. I hate all of this! I'm sick of it all!"

"Sungie…"

"Don't Kyuhyun! You can't help me, okay? You can't fix this. I just -" Yesung shut up, eyebrows drawn together in a deep scowl. "I wish I wasn't this person anymore. I don't know why Wook puts up with me, I'm awful, useless, I'm a burden on him and I fucking hate it." 

"You're not a burden," Kyuhyun said patiently. "You're not useless. I'm not trying to fix you - that's not my job as your friend. I'm just here to support you, and listen, no matter what. Wook is the same. He loves you." 

Just as suddenly as it started, Yesung's anger disappeared, and he shrunk into his chair, shoulders slumped. "I just feel like half a person." 

"You're not," Kyuhyun said reassuringly, giving his hand a squeeze. "You should see your doctor, tell them to adjust your medication if it makes you feel that bad. Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I'll -" Yesung sighed unhappily. "Wook can take me." 

At least he'd agreed to go. Kyuhyun couldn't ask for much more. They spent a bit more time outside, chatting about unimportant things, until it was too cold to sit outside any longer. Kyuhyun wheeled Yesung back to his house, getting him settled in the living room. 

"Call me at anytime, okay?" he said seriously to his friend. "If you want to talk about anything - good or bad. I'm always here for you." 

Ryeowook walked Kyuhyun to his car, and Kyuhyun told him that Yesung had agreed to see his doctor. "If he tries to squirm out of it - let me know. I'll talk to him again, see if I can convince him."

Ryeowook nodded, eyes unhappy. "He doesn't listen to me anymore," he said sadly. "I don't know what else to do. I'm trying so hard but everything I do, everything I say, turns into a fight." 

"Things will get better," Kyuhyun promised.

"I hope so," Ryeowook replied, but it didn't look like he believed it would. 

Kyuhyun got into his car but before he could leave, Ryeowook handed him a small USB drive. "This is for Zhou Mi. It's that program you asked me to write. Give it to him to install - he'll know what to do. I think he'll like it." 

Zhou Mi was out with Mrs Lee - again - when Kyuhyun returned home. Zhou Mi's messages told Kyuhyun that they'd gone for a walk and out to lunch with Mrs Lee's grandson, so Kyuhyun had several hours by himself before he returned. 

And it felt weird.

In the past couple of months since Kyuhyun had been given Zhou Mi, Kyuhyun hadn't been alone for any decent amount of time in his own apartment. Once upon a time he'd loved the solitude - there was a reason he lived by himself - but now it felt strange. 

He pottered around for a little while, feeling restless, toying occasionally with his phone and checking for messages. Eventually he sat down and started up a game. He hadn't gamed for a while - and his lack of practice soon became apparent as he kept dying. Frustrated he turned it off and looked for something else to do. 

There was no housework to be done. Zhou Mi had been doing all the cleaning and laundry, despite Kyuhyun telling him that it wasn't necessary. He felt a bit like it was taking advantage, which was a silly thing to be concerned about really, all things considering, but there it was. Kyuhyun grabbed a book and flopped on the couch, flipping through the pages and not really taking in any of the words. 

After a while Kyuhyun heard the door opening. Kyuhyun had given him a spare key even though Zhou Mi was rather adept at picking locks, having to tell him that people didn't think highly of breaking and entering. Kyuhyun tossed the book he hadn't been reading to one side and greeted Zhou Mi, who squished on the couch next to him. 

Immediately the entire atmosphere of the apartment felt warmer, definitely noisier as Zhou Mi started chatting away as he always did. Zhou Mi was a steady presence next to him, the scent of wind and fresh air in his hair, as he gave Kyuhyun an outline of his day. After lunch, he'd gone with Mrs Lee and her grandson on a walk by the river before heading back. 

"And there were people fishing!" Zhou Mi said, in the middle of his story. "Can we fish sometime?" Every time Zhou Mi saw people doing something, he came back and asked Kyuhyun if they could try it sometime. There was a whole list of experiences - enough to last several weeks - for them to try together so far. Kyuhyun wished that he had more time to take Zhou Mi out. He didn't want to miss out on Zhou Mi having new experiences, but unfortunately it seemed inevitable. 

After Zhou Mi finally stopped talking, Kyuhyun remembered that he had something to give him. He pulled out the USB drive from his pocket, placing it in Zhou Mi's hand. 

"This is from Ryeowook. And me, I guess."

Zhou Mi looked at him questioningly."What is it?"

"You'll see when you install it. Ryeowook said that you'd know how?"

Zhou Mi nodded. "I'll need your help." He sat up straight, removing his sweater and tshirt and then turned slightly so his back was facing Kyuhyun. In the middle of his back, in between his shoulder blades, Kyuhyun could see a slot. Zhou Mi held the USB over his shoulder, and Kyuhyun took it to insert it. 

Zhou Mi jerked briefly as soon as it was inserted, and then he was quiet. Kyuhyun leaned forward, angling his head so he could see Zhou Mi's face. His eyes were closed, lashes fluttering on top of his cheeks, and then they flew open. 

"Oh!"

"What happened?" Kyuhyun queried, curious if Ryeowook had been successful. 

Zhou Mi's eyes were wide and sparkling. "There were colours and flashes of images and little snippets of things that I've done. It was incredible!" 

Kyuhyun was happy that the dream program seemed to have worked. He removed the flash drive from Zhou Mi's back and handed him back his shirt and sweater. 

Zhou Mi's head reappeared as he pulled both items back on, his hair all tousled. Kyuhyun reached up to tidy it for him because he was too distracted to notice. "Did you ask Ryeowook to write that for me?" 

"Uh huh… I just asked him if it was possible." 

"Kyuhyun!" He suddenly had a giant android throwing himself at him, wrapping him up in a large hug that wasn't entirely unwelcome. "Thank you so much! I can't believe that you did that for me. I can't believe that you remembered. You're the best person I could ever have asked for! I love you!"

Those unexpected words made Kyuhyun pull back. It made Kyuhyun feel strange, an oddness sloshing around inside him. He forced a smile on his face before Zhou Mi noticed, telling himself that Zhou Mi didn't know what he was saying. 

Somehow it didn't ease the discomfort that had seeped into him. 

 

*

 

Kyuhyun had just finished typing in the notes from his last patient when Seohyun, the receptionist at the medical centre where he worked, popped her head into his office. "A friend is here to see you," she said brightly before disappearing from sight.

A friend? Kyuhyun didn't understand the amusement or the knowing look on her face until Zhou Mi entered.

"So this is where you work," Zhou Mi said, as he wandered around Kyuhyun's consultation room, busily checking it out. The room was non-descript and neutral - a desk, a couple of comfortable chairs for patients, bookshelves with medical texts, a bed against one wall, and other equipment scattered around. Zhou Mi found anatomical models on one of the shelves, selecting one of a heart and inspecting it closely as he turned it around in his hands. After he'd finished he placed it back and settled himself into one of the chairs in front of Kyuhyun's desk. 

"What are you doing here?" Kyuhyun couldn't help but ask. 

Zhou Mi pushed a box across Kyuhyun's desk. "I made you cookies! I promise that these aren't raw - Mrs Lee helped." He leant back in the chair, waiting eagerly for Kyuhyun to open the box. 

The cookies looked good - palm sized and studded with chocolate chip, the aroma of vanilla drifting off them. Normally Kyuhyun wouldn't eat in his consultation room, but since he was finished with all his patients for the day, he took one and had a tentative bite, surprised to find that they were delicious. Zhou Mi grinned at his expression of surprise. 

"I told you Mrs Lee helped me. She's going to teach me how to cook too." Zhou Mi stood up. "I have to go now. She asked me to stop by the store and pick up some things."

"Wait. How did you get here? How are you getting home?" 

"I walked!" No wonder Zhou Mi showed up so late in the afternoon. It must've taken him over an hour to walk to Kyuhyun's office. For some reason, even though Zhou Mi was an android and probably perfectly capable of looking after himself, Kyuhyun was uneasy at him walking the streets all by himself. The city they lived in wasn't particularly unsafe, but Zhou Mi probably wouldn't realise someone meant him harm until it was too late. 

Kyuhyun pulled open the top drawer of his desk to retrieve his wallet. He removed several bills, holding them out. 

"Here - take the bus. There's a bus stop just down the road - take number 204. There's 12 stops until you need to get off and it will drop you off at the end of our street. Will you be okay? Would you rather wait for me to finish then we can drive home together?"

"No, no, I can take the bus. I'll see you tonight!"

Zhou Mi waved and left, leaving Kyuhyun with an underlying anxiety that he did his best to suppress. It was stupid, he told himself. Zhou Mi wasn't a child - wasn't even human, he reminded himself - no matter how much he acted like one. He'd be fine.

Seohyun entered without knocking, heading straight for Kyuhyun's desk where she stole a cookie before he could object. "He seems nice," she said with a grin.

"He's just a friend."

"Uh huuuuuh," she sing songed. "A friend who makes a visit just to bring you cookies. Let me know where I can get a friend like that, will you?" 

"Go do some work," Kyuhyun snapped. She wasn't offended, having worked with him long enough to know that he wasn't really angry, letting out a laugh and leaving.

When Kyuhyun arrived home, Zhou Mi was nowhere to be seen and for a moment Kyuhyun was worried. He sent him a message, asking about his whereabouts, receiving a reply almost instantly.

_at mrs lees!!! (=^-ω-^=)_

And then: _come over!!!_

At Mrs Lee's apartment, Kyuhyun found Zhou Mi at her dining table, cup of tea in front of him, poring over an album of faded photos. 

"Look at these, Kyuhyun!" he said, on a page that held several black and white wedding photos, a much younger Mr and Mrs Lee smiling joyfully into the camera. "Aren't these amazing?" 

Mrs Lee gave Kyuhyun a cup of tea, her hands a little shaky as she handed it over. "Thank you for indulging an old lady," she said to Zhou Mi fondly. Zhou Mi had flipped the page, and the wedding photos had changed to baby photos, Mrs Lee holding a chubby child on her lap. As Zhou Mi continued another baby joined them, and they gradually became older, changing into children, and then into adults. 

The photos changed again - weddings of their children, then the return of baby photos as grandchildren were born. After that came holiday snaps, Mr and Mrs Lee at Big Ben in London, smiling in front of the Eiffel tower, holding hands at the Great Wall, Mr Lee kissing her cheek at Mount Fuji. 

"Ahh, we travelled a lot together after retirement," Mrs Lee said. "We went back to all the places we said we'd visit together."

There was a whole history, her life story, condensed in that book. The joy at reliving some of those memories was evident on her face and how she reached over to clasp Zhou Mi's hand in hers as he cooed at the photos. 

Why had Kyuhyun never asked her about her past? She'd always just been someone he passed by in the hallway, to and from his way to work. 

"I should let you two boys get home," Mrs Lee told them both. Kyuhyun took their cups through to the kitchen, giving them a quick wash before placing them on the drying rack, and came out to find Zhou Mi leaning down and hugging her tightly. 

"I'll come and see you tomorrow," he was saying. She laughed at him, telling him that she was sure that he had better things to do than visit an old lady, but Zhou Mi shook his head stubbornly in a way that Kyuhyun knew was impossible to change his mind. 

On the short walk back to their apartment, Kyuhyun asked him why he was spending so much time with her. He found it curious. Surely they didn't have anything in common? What did they even talk about?

"She's nice," Zhou Mi said as Kyuhyun unlocked the door. "And she's lonely. She doesn't have anyone else to talk to - kind of like me." 

Oh. Kyuhyun hadn't thought - didn't realise - that Zhou Mi might be lonely. 

"I'm not lonely when you're here!" Zhou Mi quickly explained, having picked up on Kyuhyun's perplexed expression. "Just when you're at work. And I like spending time with her anyway." And then, when Kyuhyun still looked puzzled, "Do you think I shouldn't spend so much time with her?"

"No. No! No, that's not - no, of course not. I just didn't realise that you could get lonely."

They had entered the living room, and Zhou Mi turned to eye him. "Really? Why?"

"Because…" Kyuhyun made a flapping gesture that even he couldn't translate. "Because you're an android and, you know…" 

"Oh. Right." Zhou Mi blinked at him for a while before something flickered in his eyes and he smiled, going to the kitchen. "Should I cook you dinner? What do you feel like?" 

Kyuhyun followed him, saying, "You don't need to cook for me."

"I want to!" Zhou Mi said brightly before adding with a small frown, "Maybe not chicken though."

 

* 

 

Kyuhyun came back from his letterbox with another bunch of bills. Life was drudgery sometimes. Work, sleep, eat, pay bills. Repeat. 

Kyuhyun knew that he had a good life. He earned a good salary, he owned his apartment (well the bank owned most of it), and he didn't have any dependents - unless Zhou Mi counted as one. Not that Zhou Mi cost a lot of money to keep around - it was just money that Kyuhyun hadn't budgeted for. The increase in Kyuhyun's electricity bill, the things that Kyuhyun kept buying him - clothes, cellphone, bus tickets, a bicycle so Zhou Mi could get around more easily - it all added up.

After opening all the envelopes he discovered that his electricity bill was due, and he logged on to his online banking to make the payment. Once the details came up, he started at the screen in consternation, the bill forgotten in his hands. 

This - this wasn't right. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, more closely this time, as if that would change the numbers on the screen. Well, perhaps it was a glitch. He logged out and logged back in. 

Still the same. 

Kyuhyun clicked into his transaction history but the entries were bewildering. 

"Hey Mi," he called out. Zhou Mi was sitting at the desk in the corner, the surface covered by small electronic parts from a broken radio. Kyuhyun had found it on the nature strip the other day and thought that Zhou Mi might want to try fixing it. It had kept Zhou Mi quiet over the past couple of hours as he completely disassembled it. 

"Yes?"

"Did you do something to my bank account?"

"Something?" Zhou Mi asked, pausing in the middle of sorting the radio parts into neat piles. 

"My balance is much higher than I was expecting," Kyuhyun said patiently. He hoped that Zhou Mi hadn't taken it upon himself to hack the banking database. They'd had a brief discussion about money the other week - with Kyuhyun expressing a bit of dismay about it flowed out of his account so easily. 

He'd thought it had just been a conversation, but he should have known that Zhou Mi didn't forget anything. 

"What did you do?" Kyuhyun prodded.

"Oh," Zhou Mi perked up, looking pleased with himself as he came over to the desk to peer over Kyuhyun's shoulder. "I did do something!" 

"And what was that?" 

Zhou Mi hooked his chin over Kyuhyun's shoulder. "I won some money and since I don't have a bank account - how do I get one of those again? - I put it in yours." 

Kyuhyun was flummoxed. "How did you - what did you win?" He reached behind to grab one of Zhou Mi's hands, tugging him around so he could look him in the eyes. Zhou Mi blinked at him innocently as Kyuhyun said very seriously, "Did you do something bad?" 

"Bad?" He paused, as if processing whether to confirm or not. "I played online poker." 

"You won tens of thousands of dollars playing online poker?" Kyuhyun asked slowly, shifting over so Zhou Mi could sit on the chair with him. 

"Uh huh. Is it enough? I can win more, it's easy! I lost some at the beginning, but now I have the hang of it."

Kyuhyun stared at his account balance. Was it even legal?

"Yes," Zhou Mi replied. "It's tax free too." 

"Right." What was Kyuhyun doing with his life? Why was he working so hard? Perhaps he should quit his job and let Zhou Mi take care of him. He could be the only person in the world with a sugar android. 

"You're not - you're not angry, are you?" Zhou Mi asked him tentatively, looking a bit unsure and nervous as he plucked at the material covering the chair. 

"I'm not angry," Kyuhyun confirmed, though he did feel a bit uneasy. Perhaps he'd gotten used to Zhou Mi relying on him, but lately Zhou Mi no longer needed him as much. He was the one looking after Kyuhyun, was even earning his own money now, and it felt weird. 

What if one day he didn't need Kyuhyun anymore? 

Zhou Mi dropped his head on Kyuhyun's shoulder, as if Kyuhyun's words had reassured him. The fact that his android was snuggled up to him like a giant puppy made Kyuhyun want to laugh at himself for being stupid, for having dumb thoughts. As if that would ever happen, he told himself. There was nothing to worry about. 

 

*

 

"Errrrr, right now?" Kyuhyun said into the phone to his mother. 

"Yes now. Don't you want to see your mother?" It wasn't that - Kyuhyun loved her, but she was prone to just dropping in whenever she was close by. 

"Okay, okay," he relented, knowing that there were some battles that he couldn't win. "See you soon." 

Kyuhyun surveyed his apartment, dashing around to pick up the few things that were scattered around, but fortunately there wasn't much tidying to be done because Zhou Mi kept it pretty clean. And then he realised - 

Zhou Mi. 

Zhou Mi was in the kitchen, mixing bowl on the bench and wooden spoon in his hand. He'd dug up an apron from somewhere, pink with polka dots, and it was tied securely around his waist.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Kyuhyun asked. "Why don't you go for a walk?"

"I'm making a cake!" Zhou Mi told him, sticking his tongue between his teeth as he carefully separated an egg into clean bowls. "It's for Mrs Lee to say thank you because she's been so nice to me. I got the recipe from the internet!" 

"Surely you could finish that later? Why don't you go see Mrs Lee for a little bit?"

Zhou Mi looked a bit puzzled. "But I'm right in the middle of it? I can't leave now." He held up his spoon with batter dripping off it. "And I can't take her the cake like this?"

It was too late to get him out of the apartment anyway, as the doorbell rang. Kyuhyun wasn't sure how he was meant to explain Zhou Mi's presence to his mother. 

"Okay, well… stay here and be quiet, okay?" Kyuhyun pulled the kitchen door closed a little, leaving it slightly ajar, and hurried to let his mother in. She greeted him with a kiss, before telling him that he was looking too thin.

He ushered her to the living room, past the kitchen, and they settled on the couch to catch up. They were in the middle of their conversation - or rather, a semi-lecture from Kyuhyun's mother about calling and visiting more often - when there was a loud clatter from the kitchen.

"What was that?" Kyuhyun's mother asked, getting to her feet to investigate.

"Wait, mum, I'll -" Kyuhyun said, but he failed to stop her.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as she pushed open the door to the kitchen and saw Zhou Mi.

"Hello? Kyuhyun didn't tell me there was someone else here. I'm his mother." She turned to give Kyuhyun a look that he knew meant she'd be drilling him about it later. 

"I'm Zhou Mi," he replied, smiling brightly. Then to Kyuhyun, with a small pout, he said, "Sorry, I dropped the beaters." 

"Are you baking a cake?" Kyuhyun's mother asked as she came over to the bench to investigate.

"Uh uh! It's for our neighbour." Zhou Mi finished beating the batter and started pouring it into a cake tin. 

Kyuhyun's mother reached out to hold the tin steady for him. "Your neighbour… right. I'm sorry, Zhou Mi, Kyuhyun never told me he had someone staying with him. Have you been friends long?" 

She was clearly digging for details, and Kyuhyun interrupted before Zhou Mi could say anything to give himself away. 

"Zhou Mi is actually one of Ryeowook's friends, but you know he doesn't really have space for guests. So Zhou Mi is staying here for a couple of nights while he's in town." 

Zhou Mi looked at him wide eyed, but fortunately he stayed silent on the topic, turning to open the oven door and put the cake tin in the middle. 

"Oh I see," his mother replied. It appeared that she'd brought his lie because she let the topic drop, and Kyuhyun managed to pull her out of the kitchen. They talked for a bit longer - Kyuhyun receiving a rather long lecture about finding a nice girl to settle down with - and then she finally left. 

After seeing her out, Kyuhyun returned to the kitchen. Zhou Mi's cake had finished and he was pulling it out of the oven. 

"Thanks for not giving me away," Kyuhyun told him. "I didn't know how to explain… you… to her." 

Zhou Mi's eyes glowed briefly before dimming back to their usual colour, and he hummed a little as he ran a knife between the cake and the tin to loosen it. "Are you ashamed of me?" he said tentatively. 

"No, of course not!" Kyuhyun protested. He wasn't, honestly he wasn't, he just didn't have the energy to explain androids to his mother. 

Zhou Mi hummed again, eyes downcast. "Right." 

 

*

 

There was a loud wail from the living room, and Kyuhyun hurried out from the bedroom to investigate. 

Zhou Mi was in front of the TV, clutching his seashell. Ever since that trip to the beach it was his most treasured possession. They had cleared a space for it on Kyuhyun's bookshelf, but whenever Zhou Mi was in the apartment he carried it around with him.

"I don't know what's happening!" Tears were leaking out of his eyes, rolling down his cheeks and dripping on to his legs as he cupped his knees to his chest. "I'm leaking, Kyuhyun, is something wrong with me?" he hiccuped. 

"You're crying - what happened?" Kyuhyun grabbed a few tissues as he walked over, crouching in front of him and using them to wipe Zhou Mi's tears away. 

Zhou Mi sniffed. "This is crying? I can cry?"

"It looks like it. You didn't know?" Zhou Mi shook his head sadly, the tears not stopping or slowing, wringing his hands together. "Why are you so upset?" 

Zhou Mi pointed towards the TV. He'd been watching one of Mrs Lee's DVDs, and now showing on the screen was a sobbing young boy hunched over his Labrador retriever.

"He had to shoot his dog," Zhou Mi whimpered. "The dog got bitten by a wolf trying to defend them and," Zhou Mi hiccuped again, "He had to shoot him." 

Kyuhyun patted his back consolingly. "It's okay. It's just a movie."

"But I don't understand. Why would people make something so sad? This is horrible." Zhou Mi looked so perplexed and distressed that Kyuhyun's heart gave an involuntary twinge. 

"Maybe you should stop watching this now," Kyuhyun suggested. "Why don't you watch something funny for a while." 

"Okay," Zhou Mi agreed, but the tears still didn't stop. Kyuhyun couldn't take this much longer. He shouldn't be so affected by the fact that he had an upset android in his living room, but it seemed against the natural order of the world. Normally Zhou Mi was so happy. He couldn't bear this. 

"Hey, do you want to dismantle my toaster? You haven't pulled that apart yet." At least, Kyuhyun didn't think so. 

Zhou Mi shook his head. "I know how a toaster works, I can tell just by looking at it. Electricity heats up the coils located on the side, which browns the bread and turns it into toast."

"Oh. Do you…" Kyuhyun racked his brain. "Why don't we go for a walk?" he suggested. "It would be good to get some fresh air." 

He managed to shuffle Zhou Mi out of the building, tears still rolling down the android's face. He wouldn't let go of the seashell so they took it along for the walk. 

"You're still crying," Kyuhyun huffed, slightly exasperated, taking Zhou Mi's hand to lead him down the street. 

"I'm sorry!" Zhou Mi wailed. "I don't know how to make it stop. I'm going to dry up my water tank at this rate." 

So Zhou Mi did have water storage. Kyuhyun had seen Zhou Mi drinking water occasionally and had often wondered where the liquid went to. 

They made their way to a nearby playground. There were no kids around and Kyuhyun sat Zhou Mi down in a swing, instructing him to hold on to the chains anchored at the base and running to the bar at the top. He pushed Zhou Mi for a while, after telling him the best way to kick to get the maximum swing, and was gratified to find that the tears had finally stopped. 

"Do you want a turn?" Zhou Mi asked him, leaning back so far Kyuhyun must've been upside down in his vision. "I can push you." 

"No, it's okay." 

"I like the swings," Zhou Mi told him, kicking his legs out and pumping his body higher on the upswing. "I don't like crying. Why did he have to shoot his dog, Kyu?"

"Well…" Kyuhyun thought about it for a moment, giving him another push. "His dog was badly hurt, right? He did it so it wouldn't suffer anymore."

"So it wouldn't suffer?" 

"Yes," Kyuhyun confirmed, explaining the concept a bit further. He told Zhou Mi about the pet dog he'd had when growing up, and how they'd had to put it down when it got too sick. It had been a really heartbreaking situation, but Kyuhyun also remembered feeling relieved that his pet was no longer in pain. Zhou Mi seemed to understand, humming to himself as he swung. 

After a while he slowed the swing, to say, "I still don't understand why people make things that are sad."

Kyuhyun gathered his thoughts before responding. "Well, people like things that are realistic. Not everything in life is happy, so sad things seem more real. Also, seeing or reading sad things can help us express some of our negative emotions." 

Zhou Mi was silent for a moment, before stating seriously. "People are strange." 

"Yes, we are a bit," Kyuhyun agreed. "You're lucky you're not one." 

He meant it jokingly - mostly - but he became aware that he'd said the wrong thing when Zhou Mi stopped swinging, twisting his body to look at him. "Am I? What if that's what I wanted?" 

"You don't want to be human," Kyuhyun said. Despite the fact that he didn't mean it that way, it came out a little dismissively. "We're stupid and complicated. It doesn't matter anyway, you can't be, so..." 

Zhou Mi looked at him for a long moment before getting off the swing. "Okay, I'm done now," he said, barely waiting for Kyuhyun to catch up as he walked to their apartment. 

 

* 

 

Later on at home, Zhou Mi flicked through a book as he laid on his stomach on the floor. "Kyu, what's love?" he suddenly asked. 

"Love is… it's…" Kyuhyun stuttered, looking up from his laptop, stumped on the best way to respond. 

Zhou Mi frowned and closed the book he was holding, Kyuhyun's non-response obviously unsatisfying. "The dictionary says that love is a strong feeling of affection, but in these books it seems different." Mrs Lee had lent him some books, and it appeared that some of them were romance novels. 

"There's different kinds of love," Kyuhyun agreed. "There's love that's like a deep affection or fondness - you can feel that for your family or friends. But those books are describing a sexual or romantic love. That's called falling in love or being in love." 

Zhou Mi nodded slowly. "Oh I see. How do people fall in love?" 

"I'm not sure," Kyuhyun admitted. "It just seems to happen. It helps to have common interests or chemistry, but no one knows exactly how it happens." 

Zhou Mi sidled closer, asking him curiously. "Have you been in love?" 

It had been a while since Kyuhyun's last relationship, back when he'd been in med school, but he nodded. "Yes, in the past." 

"What is it like?"

"It's like… it's really hard to describe. It's like nothing else matters except for that person. You want the best for them, you always want to be with them. Their happiness brings you happiness. Sorry, it's quite hard to put into words. It's just a feeling that you _know_." 

"Oh, like how I feel about you?" 

Kyuhyun was startled at that. "No," he said. "Not like that. Different." 

"But I always want you to be happy and I'm happiest when I'm with you. It's the same." 

Kyuhyun didn't know how to explain it to him - even if he believed (and he didn't really) that Zhou Mi was capable of real feelings, he knew that there was no way Zhou Mi was capable of _love_. "No," he protested again. "That's not - you don't quite understand."

Zhou Mi raised his eyebrows, saying stubbornly, "Maybe you're the one who doesn't understand. There seems to be a lot of things you don't know." 

It was true. Most of the time nowadays, when Zhou Mi asked Kyuhyun a question, he would have to admit his ignorance. 

"You can't, it's not the same," Kyuhyun tried to reason. 

But Zhou Mi continued as if he hadn't spoken,"How can you tell me that I'm wrong? That I don't understand?" It was the first time that Zhou Mi had ever been huffy with Kyuhyun, the only time they'd ever had an argument. "You can't tell me how I feel. I _know_. I've run the calculations and I know it's true." 

And that was the problem, wasn't it? When it came down to it, Zhou Mi was made up of lines of code and calculations. How could he possibly love? Love wasn't rational or logical - and Zhou Mi was created by logic. Just as pigs couldn't fly, just as they had to obey the rules of the universe they lived in, so did Zhou Mi. And nowhere in that rule book did it say that artificial intelligence could feel and love. 

It just wasn't possible. It _wasn't_. 

Zhou Mi left the room, taking his book with him, leaving Kyuhyun with a headache and a sense of guilt. Even though he knew he was right, he still felt as if he'd been the one in the wrong. Why did it feel like he should be the one apologising? 

Kyuhyun watched TV for a while before heading for bed. He didn't see Zhou Mi for the rest of the night, and Kyuhyun assumed he was sulking in the kitchen. It wasn't like him to be sulky - to be annoyed, really - and Kyuhyun wondered briefly about this development in his personality. Over time, and it had been so gradual that Kyuhyun had barely noticed the change, he had lost his childish innocence as his personality matured. He was still bright and mostly positive, but now he was more independent, opinionated, and assertive. 

Zhou Mi seemed to have grown up. 

Kyuhyun had been deeply asleep when an ear splitting clap of thunder startled him awake. The next minute he had a frightened android in bed with him, huddling close under the covers.

Zhou Mi was quivering in fear, head completely covered. Kyuhyun tried to reassure him _"It's just a storm, it's just thunder"_ to little success. 

"It makes me feel strange," whimpered Zhou Mi, voice muffled under the layers of blankets. The air was heavy and thick, and the lightning lit up the room in flashes through the blinds on the windows. Zhou Mi trembled in the seconds before each lightning strike, and yelped each time thunder shook the room. 

"It's okay," Kyuhyun told him soothingly, stroking his back. "It's only a storm, it'll pass by soon." 

Zhou Mi poked his head out from underneath the covers. The light in his eyes was flickering wildly, the electricity in the air disrupting his circuits. "I don't like this," he complained pitifully. 

Kyuhyun tried to think of a way to help him. "Do you want me to power you off until it passes?" he suggested.

"No! That would be worse! What if you never powered me back on?" Zhou Mi whimpered in pain again as lightning lit up the room. "I'd be stuck forever, suspended, not existing."

"I wouldn't - I wouldn't do that to you." 

Thunder boomed, sounding like the sky was ripping in half, so loud that both of them winced. Zhou Mi's _"you might"_ got lost in the noise.


	3. Chapter 3

The sound of the city was muffled, and even though the blinds were closed, Kyuhyun knew from the quietness outside that it had snowed during the night. He lazed under his blankets for a while, before he realised - Zhou Mi had never seen snow before. No doubt he'd be excited, and Kyuhyun kind of wanted to be around when he got to play in it for the first time. 

By now, there weren't many things that Zhou Mi hadn't experienced - nothing of major significance, anyway. It gave Kyuhyun a pang of nostalgia to think of those early days when he was excited about every tiny little thing. 

Kyuhyun climbed out of bed, pulling on a robe as he walked to the living room. The temperature dropped as soon as he left the bedroom, and he found that the balcony door was slid open. 

Through the opening he could see Zhou Mi outside, leaning against the banister, hand out to catch the snow as it fell. 

"This is snow, right?" Zhou Mi asked him as he neared. Kyuhyun wrapped his arms around himself and nodded. 

"How long have you been out here?" He touched the back of Zhou Mi's hand to find him icy cold. Normally Zhou Mi ran hot, a lot of energy being expended to keep his processes running, with the heat released through his skin. 

"Since it started," Zhou Mi said, a little dreamily, a flake landing on his nose.

"I think you should come inside," Kyuhyun suggested. Zhou Mi might not feel the cold in the same way that Kyuhyun did, but the repeated exposure seemed to affect the way he ran, making him sluggish and slow. 

"It's so pretty." Zhou Mi's lips were stiff and barely moved as he spoke. Kyuhyun tried to encourage him again to head inside but Zhou Mi shook his head stubbornly. "No." 

"Zhou Mi. Come inside." 

"Want to stay here."

"You're freezing," Kyuhyun tried to reason. Ever since that day - when they'd argued - Zhou Mi had been less willing to listen to what Kyuhyun had to say. He'd been saying no more often, had been quieter and even contrary. Where normally he would throw himself at Kyuhyun when he arrived home, now he'd look up and say a short hello, and then go back to what he was doing, which was generally texting or messaging or doing _whatever_ on his phone. 

"You... go... inside... then." By now Zhou Mi was finding it so difficult to talk that each word was almost like its own sentence. 

Kyuhyun didn't know what else to do, he was afraid that Zhou Mi was going to suffer permanent damage. Plus he wanted to go inside himself. "Zhou Mi. I order you to come inside." 

It was the first time he'd ever given Zhou Mi an order. 

Zhou Mi turned to look at him, and Kyuhyun was stunned to see that the light in his eyes was not warm as usual, but baleful and angry. Without a word he walked in, head held high.

It wasn't real anger, Kyuhyun told himself later, as he watched the hard set line of Zhou Mi's shoulders, the android sitting purposely with his back to him.

It couldn't be. 

 

*

 

Kyuhyun called Zhou Mi's phone. "Where the hell are you?"

Whatever was happening in the background was incredibly loud, and Kyuhyun could only just make out Zhou Mi's response. 

"I'm - party!" 

"What?"

There was a pause for a moment, and then the background noise lessened. Zhou Mi must've stepped outside. "I'm at a party," he repeated.

What? How on earth had Zhou Mi been invited to a party? 

Zhou Mi explained. "Remember Mrs Lee's grandson, Sungmin? It's a friend of his!" 

This was a new situation. Increasingly, Zhou Mi had been having his own life outside of Kyuhyun, one that Kyuhyun wasn't privy to. He'd been spending a lot of time with Mrs Lee, and now it appeared that he had befriended her grandson and her grandson's friends. Kyuhyun didn't think he liked this. 

"You're supposed to tell me where you are," he reminded him. 

"Oh sorry! I got caught up, I'll be sure to text you next time."

Next time. So there was going to be a next time. It wasn't as if Kyuhyun expected Zhou Mi to sit around at home waiting for him to get back, and he knew that Zhou Mi got a bit lonely while Kyuhyun was at work, but… he thought Zhou Mi liked being in his company. Things had been a bit strange between them since they'd had their argument. Kyuhyun treated him the same - at least he thought so - but Kyuhyun felt as if Zhou Mi was pulling away from him. 

"I'll see you at home later. No need to wait up," Zhou Mi trilled, ending the call without waiting for a response. 

It was 3am when Zhou Mi fell in the door, giggling away, holding someone up by the shoulders. 

"SHHHHH," Zhou Mi was saying to his friend, but it was pointless because Kyuhyun was wide awake and totally pissed off. He'd been _worried_ , so anxious he hadn't been able to sleep, and here Zhou Mi was, waltzing in as if it was 3 in the afternoon. 

Zhou Mi's friend looked up, eyes droopy, and waved. "Hello," he hiccupped. "Thanks for letting me stay over."

Kyuhyun wanted to strangle him. He wasn't letting him stay over. Kyuhyun glared at Zhou Mi, who ignored it.

"Kyuhyun, this is Sungmin. Mrs Lee's grandson. We didn't want to wake her, so I said he could stay here." 

"How considerate of you," Kyuhyun said, but Zhou Mi missed the sarcasm in his voice. Kyuhyun left the two giggling idiots to it, going so far as to dig in his closet for a spare blanket and throwing at them. It hit Zhou Mi in the back, but they were too busy laughing to notice the black mood swirling around Kyuhyun. 

Kyuhyun climbed into bed, still able to hear Sungmin and Zhou Mi talking and laughing outside his room. It took him a long time to fall asleep.

In the morning, Kyuhyun left his bedroom to find Sungmin snoring on the couch, and Zhou Mi curled up next to him. It looked comical. The couch was large, and while Sungmin wasn't tall, Zhou Mi was awkwardly positioned, his long limbs taking up most of the space. Zhou Mi's eyes opened as soon as Kyuhyun entered the room, and Kyuhyun nodded an awkward greeting. 

Zhou Mi unwrapped himself carefully, amazingly not waking Sungmin, to follow Kyuhyun into the kitchen .

Kyuhyun could feel him watching him. "You're angry," Zhou Mi stated. 

Kyuhyun had his back to him, pressing the buttons on the coffee maker. The stupid thing wouldn't turn on. He kept jabbing at it, as if that would help. "Why would I be angry?" 

"You don't need to deny it," Zhou Mi said, reaching over him and pressing a single button. The coffee machine switched on easily. "I can read your emotions by now. But I don't understand why." 

Of course he wouldn't understand. When it came down to it, he was an android, how could he possibly understand?

"Drop it, Mi," Kyuhyun said. "Just drop it." His tone came out harsher than he'd intended, a byproduct of his tiredness and frustration. 

"You're always telling me that I don't understand but you won't explain it to me! Why? It's because I'm -" Zhou Mi stopped himself, eyes flashing with that eerie light that Kyuhyun was starting to see more and more. The light that reminded him that Zhou Mi was artificial. He lowered his voice, aware that Sungmin was in the next room, shaking his head sadly, and Kyuhyun wondered what he had been about to say. "It doesn't matter," Zhou Mi said, almost to himself. "Enjoy your coffee." 

 

*

 

Things had changed, and Kyuhyun couldn't pinpoint the catalyst. Maybe there hadn't been one point, and it was something that happened slowly, an incremental change over months - just like the slow but inevitable passing of the seasons.

Zhou Mi started spending more and more time away from the apartment. In the past he'd be home to greet Kyuhyun after work, or occasionally he'd drop by Kyuhyun's office on unannounced visits. But then those stopped, and even Seohyun noticed, mentioning that she hadn't seen Zhou Mi for a while, in a way that Kyuhyun knew was fishing for information. 

At first Kyuhyun told himself it was a good thing - Zhou Mi was becoming more independent. It wasn't as if Zhou Mi _needed_ Kyuhyun. He had stopped relying on him a long time ago, had long ago stopped asking, "Kyuhyun, how does this work?" 

If Kyuhyun was being honest with himself - he missed it.

That wasn't the only thing Kyuhyun found that he missed. Zhou Mi used to talk animatedly at Kyuhyun, telling him all about his day - all the things he'd done and seen. He'd bombard him with tiny unimportant details, mostly boring, but they added colour and vibrancy to his stories. Gradually that fell away too, with Zhou Mi's stories becoming briefer and briefer. 

"Where've you been?" Kyuhyun asked one day after he'd waited hours for Zhou Mi to return home. 

"At Mrs Lee's place," Zhou Mi said as he took off his shoes, lining them up neatly before removing his coat and scarf. Both items were new, and Kyuhyun wondered when he got them and also - had he really needed both items for the short walk down the hall? 

Zhou Mi still played online poker occasionally, still depositing the money into Kyuhyun's bank account, and Kyuhyun often gave him cash to spend. 

"Really?" Kyuhyun asked, pondering the snow he could see in Zhou Mi's hair. "You were there pretty late." 

"Uh huh," Zhou Mi told him. "You remember that Sungmin is staying with her? Some of his friends came over and we lost track of time." He rubbed his hands up his arms, saying, "It's cold outside." No doubt he'd seen the gesture on TV or something and was mimicking it, Kyuhyun thought unfairly. "We were out on the balcony for a while - some of them smoke. That's a weird habit, isn't it?" 

Kyuhyun hoped that he didn't try smoking, and the question must've been obvious on his face because Zhou Mi noticed, saying, "I don't have lungs, of course I didn't try it."

Right. Well. "Okay," Kyuhyun said, a little awkwardly. "I'm going to bed. Are you -- are you fine? Do you need anything?" 

"No," Zhou Mi said quietly. "I don't need anything from you." 

 

*

 

Ryeowook unlocked the padlock to his garden shed with difficulty, hands constricted by thick gloves. He reached in, pulling out two shovels and handed one to Kyuhyun. 

"Why don't you build a robot to do this?" Kyuhyun half grumbled as they trudged through the snow around the house to the driveway. "Can't we use Donghae?"

"And miss out on an opportunity to torture my best friend?" Ryeowook scoffed. "As if. Besides, Donghae is commissioned for someone else, I can't use him to do chores." They made it to the end of the driveway and Ryeowook directed Kyuhyun to the left hand side, indicating that he'd take the right. "Speaking of androids - how's Zhou Mi?"

Kyuhyun attacked the snow furiously, digging the blade of his shovel in and scooping out a large pile before answering. "I think he might be broken."

Ryeowook stopped his own shoveling, twisting to face him, concern on his face. "Broken?"

"Yeah," Kyuhyun told him. "He's just… weird." 

He could see Ryeowook's eyebrows furrow as he propped himself up on the shovel's handle. "In what way?"

"Well… he's moody? Distant?" It was so hard to articulate - how could he describe how things had changed between them? "Just - not the same."

"Oh" Ryeowook looked a bit relieved. "He's not going to stay static. That was never the intention." Ryeowook pointed out, "I programmed him to learn, so it's inevitable that he'll change and develop over time." 

"No, I know that," Kyuhyun protested. He didn't expect him to remain exactly the same, but their relationship had changed so much. Surely that wasn't normal? _He used to like me_ , Kyuhyun almost said, but bit it back, aware that it sounded petulant. 

Ryeowook was watching him. "It's really bothering you." At Kyuhyun's nod, he relented. "Okay. Bring him to the workshop and I'll take a look." 

 

*

 

_where are you?_

Another day, and again Zhou Mi had gone missing. Kyuhyun didn't know why he cared any more, why he bothered messaging him when Zhou Mi seemed to be ignoring his texts and phone calls. They'd discussed it the other day, or at least - Kyuhyun thought they'd discussed it.

"At least let me know where you are!" Kyuhyun had huffed. "If something happened to you, Ryeowook would kill me!" 

Zhou Mi had blinked at him upon hearing those words, making Kyuhyun feel as if he'd said something wrong - _again_. "Oh. Ryeowook. Of course." He paused before adding, "I'll let you know where I am. Wouldn't want Ryeowook to worry." And then he'd swept off, no doubt to hang out with Sungmin again. 

Kyuhyun had given up on a response when his phone finally beeped with a notification. 

_at the hospital. mrs lee had a stroke._

Kyuhyun called him immediately. "Is she okay? Are you okay? Can I do anything?" 

"I'm not sure. We're waiting to talk to the doctor." Even through the phone Kyuhyun could hear the quiver in his voice. They spoke for a few short minutes, ending the call when the doctor became available.

Kyuhyun found out later that the prognosis wasn't good. 

Mrs Lee's stroke was a major one, leaving her paralysed on her left side. Because of her age, it was unlikely that she'd ever come back home. Just like that, her entire life had changed. 

Zhou Mi was devastated, and when he finally came home Kyuhyun let him climb into bed with him, just like on the night of the thunderstorm. That night felt like years ago now. Was that when it started to end? Was that when Zhou Mi stopped thinking of Kyuhyun as "his person"? 

Zhou Mi clutched his seashell to his chest as he laid on his side, curled up like an overgrown puppy, leaking water all over the pillow. 

"Do you think I'm capable of genuine sadness, Kyuhyun?" Zhou Mi asked him, the question coming out of nowhere. Before Kyuhyun could respond, he asked another question. "Do you think that what I'm experiencing now is real?"

Perhaps in Zhou Mi's mind - in his code - everything was yes or no. Black or white. 0 or 1. But it wasn't that simple, was it? 

Real? Not real? Was that a question that could truly be answered with a yes or no? Kyuhyun thought that what Zhou Mi experienced was real _for him_. But that wasn't the question that Zhou Mi was asking. So Kyuhyun hesitated before answering. "Yes." 

Zhou Mi blinked at him. "I can tell when you lie." He brought the seashell up to his ear and closed his eyes, tears finally dried up.

 

*

 

Zhou Mi wouldn't stay still, wandering around Ryeowook's workshop. He picked up objects, poked into boxes loaded on the shelves, inspecting everything he could lay his hands on. 

"He's getting weirder and weirder," Kyuhyun said to Ryeowook in a low whisper, so Zhou Mi couldn't overhear. 

"I'll take a look," Ryeowook promised. "Maybe something's gone haywire in his program." 

Ryeowook managed to get Zhou Mi over by telling him he was going to power on Donghae. "I've done a lot of work on him," Ryeowook said to Zhou Mi, waving him to a chair. "I'd be interested to see what you think."

Zhou Mi took the bait, seating himself next to the other android, and before he could stop him, Ryeowook came up behind, pressing on the spot behind his ear to power him off. The change was immediate, Zhou Mi's eyes closing and his shoulders slumping. Ryeowook unbuttoned the shirt Zhou Mi was wearing, leaning the android forward a little so he could slip it off his shoulders to expose Zhou Mi's back.

The socket in between Zhou Mi's shoulder blades was barely visible, and Ryeowook clicked his tongue. 

"It hasn't been used in a while, so it's grown over," he explained to Kyuhyun. While Zhou Mi was synthetic, his frame was covered with a biological medium very similar to human skin, which added to his realism. Ryeowook went away, coming back with a scalpel, and Kyuhyun did his best not to flinch as Ryeowook sliced into Zhou Mi's skin, working it away from the socket. Once it was clear Ryeowook plugged in a cable, connecting Zhou Mi to his laptop. 

"Let's have a look and see how he's going." Ryeowook started typing, the keys of the laptop clacking away. "Oh, that's interesting." 

"What is it?" Kyuhyun peered over Ryeowook's shoulder, but he didn't understand anything that was showing on the screen. 

"See all these files?" Ryeowook asked. 'They're all new. But…" he typed for a moment and then shook his head. "I can't get into them. They're all encrypted. Unless you've been playing around in Zhou Mi's brain..." Kyuhyun shook his head to indicate that he hadn't done anything - he wouldn't even know where to start. Ryeowook tapped on his chin as he thought. "I wonder what would happen if I tried to delete them."

Would that remove everything that Zhou Mi had learned? Would that remove the essence of Zhou Mi? Kyuhyun realised that he didn't want to find out. "Wait - don't!" 

Ryeowook gave Kyuhyun an irritated look. "I wasn't going to. I was just wondering." He kept working for a bit before blowing out his cheeks. "Although… I don't think I could, even if I wanted to. I can't seem to make any changes." Ryeowook laughed a little, though Kyuhyun didn't know what was funny. "This is incredible. It shouldn't be possible, but I think he's locked me out." 

What did that mean? Did Zhou Mi now have the ability to reprogram himself? Did that mean that his reactions, the things he said that he could _feel_ were genuine and not as a result of code that Ryeowook had written? Suddenly Kyuhyun felt guilty, like they were prying into something they shouldn't be digging into. 

"Turn him back on," Kyuhyun said, his tone sharp. "He doesn't like being powered off. Turn him back on." 

Ryeowook obeyed without question, quickly logging out and removing the plug. Zhou Mi's eyes fluttered open, wide, and the light that was in them shone like flame on a dark winter's night as he stared at Kyuhyun. 

Zhou Mi knew, Kyuhyun thought. He knew. 

But he didn't say anything, instead asking Ryeowook, "Weren't you going to show me how Donghae is going?" 

Ryeowook scrambled to get the other android going, and Donghae powered on, smiling brightly, greeting them all. Ryeowook was correct in saying he'd done a lot of work on him - he was much improved from the last time they'd seen him. 

Zhou Mi reached for Donghae, and the other android hopped off the bench. His movements were smooth and flowing as he walked over, allowing Zhou Mi to wrap his arms around his waist. 

"Do you remember me?"

"Yes! Zhou Mi!" 

Kyuhyun's heart ached a little in hearing the brightness in his voice - so similar to when Zhou Mi had been new in his life. 

Zhou Mi smiled up at Donghae gently, who'd moved to perch on his lap, and he said to Ryeowook. "You were right. He didn't need a person." Donghae nodded at Zhou Mi's words, his arms around Zhou Mi's neck, looking like a child. "I don't think we need people after all."

 

*

 

"You're going where?" Zhou Mi was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching Kyuhyun pack, his seashell in his hands. 

"Overseas. With my friends. It's just for a week." It was a trip that he'd organised ages ago, before Zhou Mi's arrival - a visit to a tropical island in the South Pacific to take a short break from winter. Truthfully, with the tension between them both, Kyuhyun was looking forward to getting away for a while.

"Oh." Zhou Mi toyed with the seashell, lifting it to his ear, removing it, lifting it up again. He was still in the habit of carrying it around the apartment, like a security blanket. Kyuhyun had noticed that when Zhou Mi was in a negative mood - fear, sadness, or confusion - he'd listen to the shell. 

"You'll be okay without me?" 

Zhou Mi blinked at him. "Of course. I can take care of myself." He lifted a shoulder in a casual shrug. "And Min is just down the hall." 

Mrs Lee hadn't returned home, and her grandson seemed to have moved into her apartment permanently. They still spent ridiculous amounts of time together, much of it at the nursing home where Mrs Lee had been transferred. 

"Do you need help packing?" Zhou Mi asked politely. He still did the bulk of the chores around the apartment, long past listening to Kyuhyun's pleas that it wasn't necessary. "Your favourite sweater is on the drying rack."

"Oh, we're going somewhere warm. I won't need it." He did need his swimming trunks though. Kyuhyun dug into the bottom of his closet, locating them and tossing them in the direction of his open suitcase. He missed but Zhou Mi stood up and picked them off the floor, folding them neatly and tucking them into the case. 

"Passport…" Kyuhyun muttered to himself as he went through his mental checklist. That was the most important item. Dammit, where had he put that thing? He knew that he'd put it somewhere safe - but where? 

"Passport," Zhou Mi repeated quietly as Kyuhyun ransacked the drawers of his bedside table. "How does someone get a passport?

For a person it was relatively easy, but for an android it would be impossible. Kyuhyun didn't say this though, only half concentrating as he explained the process during the hunt for his own. He finally located it hidden at the back of his sock drawer. 

Zhou Mi lifted the shell up to his ear. "I see." 

 

*

 

Kyuhyun couldn't help but think: Zhou Mi would like this place. 

The sky was blue, the sand was golden, the ocean was calm. Kyuhyun was having a great time with his friends, but despite that Zhou Mi kept popping up in his mind. 

"What are you looking for?" Changmin teased when they stopped at a market stall. "Need a tacky souvenir for home?"

Kyuhyun looked at the selection thoughtfully while the stall owner watched them both, hoping to make a sale. Along with the usual tourist trinkets: braided baskets, fridge magnets, t-shirts with cheesy slogans, the stall also had a shelf of sea conches, all different colours and sizes. 

Changmin picked out a magnet, saying with a laugh, "Here, how about this one? This would look good on your fridge, right?"

"Put that down," Kyuhyun said with a low hiss, elbowing him in the side. "Don't make fun of his stuff." He made eye contact with the stall owner, pointing at the shells. "How much?"

"Good price for you," the owner said, teeth blindingly white as he grinned, reaching up to pull one down. "Very good price." 

"You're buying a shell?" Changmin laughed as he handed the stall owner a few notes to buy the magnet he'd picked up. "That is the ultimate tacky souvenir."

"Says the person buying a fridge magnet shaped like a palm tree. It's not for me anyway."

Changmin raised his eyebrows as they walked away, purchases made. "Oh. Who for then?" 

Dammit, Kyuhyun shouldn't have said anything. "Just a friend." 

"Right," Changmin said disbelievingly. "You know I'm going to get the truth out of you eventually. You may as well just tell me."

Except Kyuhyun couldn't - could he? What was he meant to say? I've been living with someone for the past few months, and he really likes this shell that I gave him when we went to the beach one time, and things between us have been a bit tense so I thought I'd give him another one as a peace offering.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that he's an android. That is, not a person - something artificial and programmed? Except he talks and walks and looks exactly like a human being, and he says that he feels things. Which is impossible, isn't it? I mean - that would be crazy. Right? 

Kyuhyun could just imagine saying all this to his friend, and having Changmin look at him like he was a freak. 

"There's nothing to tell you," Kyuhyun said, biting his tongue. "Really. It's no one important."

 

*

 

When Kyuhyun came back from his trip - suitcase heavier and slightly more tanned than when he'd left - he wondered if Zhou Mi would be there to greet him. He unlocked the door, half expecting the apartment to be empty, and was surprised to find Zhou Mi sitting on the couch waiting for him. 

"Welcome back," Zhou Mi said, walking over and taking Kyuhyun's suitcase from him. "Did you have a good time?"

The apartment was spotless and Zhou Mi looked the same as when he left. Kyuhyun rifled through the mail he picked up from the letterbox on his way up. They all looked like bills, but surprisingly there was one addressed to Zhou Mi. 

He handed it over to him, Zhou Mi ooohing in surprise as he tore the envelope open. 

Kyuhyun stared at the item in Zhou Mi's hands. "Is that a passport? How did you get a passport?"

"Uh huh. It was easy," Zhou Mi told him. "I just needed a birth certificate."

Considering Zhou Mi had never actually been born, how on earth did he get one of those?

"I entered my details into the medical system." Zhou Mi held his new passport up to the light before flicking through the pages admiringly. 

"You hacked into the medical system?"

"Is that what it's called? I guess I did that. Do you know how useful a birth certificate is? I also opened a bank account and ordered a credit card." 

Kyuhyun wanted to tell him that what he had done was wrong, but he knew that Zhou Mi would give him a quizzical look and ask why? It was too late anyway.

"Just… don't go hacking into anything else," Kyuhyun said weakly. "You could get into trouble." 

"That's all I needed so I have no reason to," Zhou Mi said, pragmatic as always. He tucked his new passport away in the bookshelf, behind where his seashell normally sat. 

Which reminded Kyuhyun… 

"I have something for you," Kyuhyun said, tipping his suitcase on to its side and unzipping it. He dug into the contents until he found the shell he'd purchased. He'd wrapped it in several layers of clothing, and after unfurling it he held it up for Zhou Mi to take. The shell was large, about the size of both of Zhou Mi's hands put together. The outer shell was coloured a dusty pink and beige, spiralling to a sharp tip, and inside it was a glossy polished white. 

"You bought this for me?" Zhou Mi asked, almost disbelievingly. 

"Yes," Kyuhyun agreed. "Listen to it." Kyuhyun had spent a lot of time while he was away holding it to his ear and listening. The shell that they found at the beach was a pale imitation in comparison. This shell was like standing in the middle of a storm with waves crashing against the shore. 

"This is for me?" Zhou Mi repeated.

"I know how much you liked the other one, so… I thought you might like it." Now Kyuhyun wasn't so sure about his present. What had he been thinking? It was stupid to think that Zhou Mi might want another shell just because he seemed to treasure the first one. 

Zhou Mi snatched his hands away before Kyuhyun could take it from him. "I do like it. I really like it." He looked up and smiled, eyes warmer than Kyuhyun had seen in a while. "Thank you." 

 

*

 

Kyuhyun entered the hospital, checking the time on his watch. He was a bit early, but it was the first time that Yesung had ever asked him for a ride home from physical therapy and Kyuhyun hadn't wanted to be late. 

He waited for a while until Yesung's session finished, hanging about in the waiting room until Yesung rolled out in his chair, face still a bit red from exertion. They went to Kyuhyun's car together, and Kyuhyun helped him into the front seat before packing up the wheelchair and hoisting it into the boot. 

"How did you get here?" Kyuhyun asked him curiously as he drove out of the hospital car park. "Where's Wook?"

"I took a taxi," Yesung told him. He was looking much better than the last time Kyuhyun saw him, and he sounded confident and calm. "Thanks for picking me up - I actually wanted to ask you something." 

"Hmmm?"

"I need your help. I want to move out." 

"You want to what!?" Kyuhyun couldn't help his reaction, the car screeching to a halt in his surprise. The car behind him beeped their horn, pressing on it long and hard. Kyuhyun waved a hand in apology.

"I want to move out," Yesung said calmly, far too calmly for the bombshell he'd just dropped. "I want my own place."

"But… what about Wook?" 

Yesung sighed and looked out the window. "It's time for me to be by myself. And I haven't talked to him yet - you can't say anything."

Kyuhyun couldn't have this conversation while he was driving. He found a place to pull over, turning off the engine before turning to his friend. "Are you leaving him?"

"No? Maybe? I need to sort myself out - I can't keep using him as a crutch." He laughed weakly at his own unintended pun. "I just feel like - if I stay there - that I'll never come to terms with this." He waved at his body with a hand. "I love him, but I feel like I'm holding him back, and that in turn holds me back?" 

"I don't understand." How could Yesung claim to love Ryeowook and still talk about leaving him? 

"You know how that cliche goes. If you love something…"

"Set it free." 

Yesung nodded, still sure and completely calm. "So.. will you help me?"

 

*

 

"Fuck you," Ryeowook yelled, giving Kyuhyun a hard shove, pushing him into the wall. "What the hell?" He pummeled Kyuhyun's chest until Zhou Mi reached in between them, grabbing Ryeowook's fists. 

"Don't do that," Zhou Mi said to Ryeowook. 

"He deserves it, he's an asshole," Ryeowook shouted, pulling out of Zhou Mi's hold, shaking with anger. "How the fuck could you? You helped him leave! How could you? You're meant to be my friend!" 

Zhou Mi pulled Ryeowook away, pushing him into the kitchen, the door closing behind him. Kyuhyun slumped on to the couch, tugging at his hair. Guilt gnawed at him as he thought of what Ryeowook must've felt when arrived home to find Yesung gone. 

Kyuhyun had helped Yesung find his own place, a small apartment on the ground floor of an older building, had helped him get everything set up - furniture, appliances, utilities. He'd made sure the place was wheelchair friendly, had even taken Yesung to the employment centre to start looking for a job.

And he'd kept it from his best friend. Even though he knew it was a betrayal of sorts, he'd stayed silent as per Yesung's request. But truthfully, he didn't regret it - not when he hadn't seen Yesung so determined since his accident - but he did regret not being able to soften the blow when Ryeowook found out. 

Kyuhyun heard the door slam when Ryeowook stormed out, and the couch dipped when Zhou Mi returned to the room and sat next to him. 

"Is he okay?" he asked Zhou Mi. "Will he be okay?"

"He's really upset. About Yesung leaving him, but also that you lied to him. Why didn't you tell him?" 

How could Kyuhyun explain it to Zhou Mi when he couldn't even explain it to Ryeowook? How he'd been torn about it, torn between his two friends. He tried to say this but it came out wrong. "You wouldn't understand." He immediately regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. That wasn't what he meant to say. 

"Of course not," Zhou Mi said, standing up, his voice soft. "I don't understand anything." 

 

*

 

Kyuhyun bumped into Sungmin in the elevator one morning on his way to work. They greeted each other awkwardly, not very familiar with each other despite Zhou Mi being their common link. 

They both stared at the elevator door, not talking as it descended. Kyuhyun willed the elevator to move faster. 

Sungmin broke the silence as the elevator reached the 4th floor. "Sorry. I hope there's no hard feelings?"

"What?"

"I mean, I don't know what's going on with you and Zhou Mi. He hasn't told me any details, but I've picked up on the tension. I just hope you don't feel like I've come between you because I offered him a place to stay? We're just friends."

Kyuhyun stared at him, ice building in his veins. "What?" 

Realisation dawned on Sungmin's face as the elevator reached the ground floor. "Shit. He hasn't told you."

"No," Kyuhyun said, the cold seeping into his voice as he pressed the button to close the door before Sungmin could leave. "But you're going to." 

 

*

 

Kyuhyun stewed on it all day at work. He wasn't his best with his patients, and even Seohyun, who normally treated him with a teasing attitude, treaded carefully. 

It all built up until he finally saw him.

"You're moving out?" Kyuhyun yelled at Zhou Mi as soon as he walked in.

"I was going to tell you."

"You were going to TELL me? You didn't think it was something we should talk about?" 

"Why would we talk about it? It's for the best." 

"It's not for the best! Ryeowook entrusted you to me!"

Zhou Mi stiffened, and the light in his eyes that only ever showed when Kyuhyun was around glowed a faint red. "I don't need you to look after me. I don't belong to you. Maybe I did at the beginning, but I don't anymore. I'm not your possession. I'm not your toy. I'm Zhou Mi, and I am myself." 

Where was this coming from? Kyuhyun had never considered Zhou Mi his possession. 

"Do you know why I spend so much time with Sungmin?" Zhou Mi asked. "It's because he doesn't treat me like an android. He doesn't tell me that my feelings aren't real. He treats me as a person."

"It's because he doesn't know!" Couldn't Zhou Mi, with all his intelligence, recognise that? If Sungmin knew the truth about him, he would be the same as Kyuhyun. 

"But he does know," Zhou Mi said softly. "I told him. Mrs Lee knows too. And they still treat me like I'm a person. They don't look at me like I'm different." 

But he was different. At the end of the day, Zhou Mi was computerised. Everything was just a good mimicking act - a series of programmed reactions. Right? Kyuhyun's head hurt. 

"I just want you to _see_ me." 

"I do see you," Kyuhyun protested.

"You don't see me as a person."

"But… you're not," Kyuhyun replied, almost helplessly. He didn't mean anything cruel by that - it was just the stark truth. Surely Zhou Mi could understand that? 

Zhou Mi smiled at him sadly. "And that's why I have to leave." He walked over to the bookshelf, grabbing his shell - the first one they'd found at the beach, leaving the second one sitting there. Before he left, he said, "By the way, I don't need to obey your orders any more. I deactivated that command. So don't think of trying to order me to stay. I won't." 

 

*

 

Kyuhyun stood outside Ryeowook's workshop, giving himself a pep talk to gather his courage. He told himself that he'd given Ryeowook enough time to calm down, but it would be the first time seeing his friend since Yesung moved out, and who knew how Ryeowook would react. He took a deep breath to fortify himself before pushing open the door with his shoulder, entering quietly. 

Ryeowook was at his workbench, screwdriver in hand and hunched over an android torso. Donghae was powered off and propped up in a chair next to him. It appeared that Ryeowook had a new project. 

Kyuhyun cleared his throat to draw his attention. When his head snapped up, Kyuhyun held out one of the coffee cups he was carrying. 

Ryeowook raised an eyebrow. "Is that an apology coffee?" 

"Yes," Kyuhyun responded, hopeful. There was a long pause until Ryeowook reached out to take it. 

"Sit down," Ryeowook said. There was a chair close by, and Kyuhyun shuffled some spare parts off it before taking a seat. 

"I'm really, really sorry," Kyuhyun began, but Ryeowook stopped him from apologising any further. 

"It's okay. I understand why you did it - I know it must've been hard for you too. I'm sorry I hit you." 

"I barely felt the punches," Kyuhyun joked, even though it was a lie. Ryeowook was small but strong, and Kyuhyun had bruises for a week. "Have you talked to Yesung?"

Ryeowook gave him a small smile. "Yeah. Just a few messages and emails - he's not ready to see me, not yet, but he says that he's doing well. He said he has a job?"

Kyuhyun nodded. Yesung's job was at a graphic design firm not far from his new place, close enough that he could travel there himself. He didn't start for another couple of weeks. "I have something to tell you," Kyuhyun said, a confession of sorts. "Zhou Mi left." 

"What? He left? Why?" 

"I think he's outgrown me," Kyuhyun told him. He'd thought about it a lot since Zhou Mi walked out, tried to pinpoint exactly where it had gone wrong. "No," Kyuhyun corrected, thinking he may as well be honest with his best friend. "He left because I can't see him as anything but an android." 

"Ahhh. That is a problem." 

"Is it? Isn't that what he is?" 

Ryeowook's expression was thoughtful, and instead of answering Kyuhyun's question, he asked one of his own. "If that's all you think he is, why are you so upset about this?" 

"Because… because -" Kyuhyun sputtered. "Because you gave him to me, and I have a responsibility to look after him." 

Ryeowook scoffed at him, rolling his eyes. "He can look after himself - better than you or I can. He's proven that much." Then, more gently. "I think it's real, Kyuhyun. The way he thinks, the things he feels - I believe it's real." 

Kyuhyun couldn't contain his exasperation. Whenever they'd discussed this topic previously, Ryeowook had never been this direct, had always skated around it. "Why didn't you tell me?" 

Ryeowook shrugged. "What would you have done if I'd told you? It wasn't what you wanted to hear." Kyuhyun didn't know but maybe, maybe he could've done something differently, and Zhou Mi wouldn't have left. "You care for him, right?" 

"Of course," Kyuhyun said. 

"Then somewhere deep inside, you think of him as _something_ worth caring about. Do you really need to define that something?" 

Did he? Kyuhyun didn't know any more. All he knew is that he felt awful, like he'd done Zhou Mi a terrible, terrible wrong. 

 

*

 

Sometimes Kyuhyun surprised even himself with how easily he could pretend things were normal. 

_haven't seen you in a while… are you home? can I stop by?_ Kyuhyun sent the message to Zhou Mi before he could think twice about it. It wasn't long before he got a reply.

_not at home, at work_

Wait. Work? Zhou Mi had a job?

_working? where? what time do you finish?_

This time it took much longer for Zhou Mi to respond, over half an hour, during which time Kyuhyun started a load of laundry and contemplated vacuuming his floors. 

_sorry, busy. mrs lee's nursing home. late shift, finish at 11_

When Kyuhyun looked at the time he saw that it had just passed 10.30pm. He fidgeted with his phone for a bit, wondering if he should make the offer, and then in a moment of bravery, quickly typed _i'll drop by and give you a ride back to sungmin's_. He slipped his phone into his pocket, not waiting for Zhou Mi's response in case he said no, picking up his car keys and heading down to the basement. 

It was a short drive to the nursing home, and not too long afterwards Kyuhyun found himself parking his car out the front. The doors were locked, but there was a buzzer on the wall next to the door and he pressed that a couple of times until someone emerged from the back. 

"Oh I'm sorry," she said loudly, so he could hear through the glass doors. "Visiting hours are over for the day. You can visit tomorrow morning at 9am." 

"I'm actually here to pick up Zhou Mi," Kyuhyun replied.

At that she brightened. "You're a friend of Zhou Mi's? Come through then." She unlocked the door and Kyuhyun followed her through. They walked past the front desk and down a corridor, into a large room that Kyuhyun assumed was a common area - filled with armchairs arranged in small groups, as well as tables, bookshelves and a TV. All the lights were turned down and the place was quiet. 

In the corner Zhou Mi was picking up cushions, plumping them up, and arranging them nicely on the chairs. 

"Zhou Mi, your friend is here."

Zhou Mi looked up, obviously surprised to see Kyuhyun. "Oh. Umm. Hi." 

"Why don't you go home?" his colleague said. "I can finish up. I'll see you tomorrow." 

She wouldn't take no for an answer, and Kyuhyun followed Zhou Mi around as he went to the staff office to pick up his bag. They didn't talk.

It wasn't until they were in Kyuhyun's car that Kyuhyun attempted to make conversation. "How are you?"

"Good," Zhou Mi replied shortly, head turned to look out the side window. 

"You're still staying with Sungmin?"

"Uh huh."

"How's Mrs Lee?"

"She's fine."

Kyuhyun sighed as he stopped at an intersection. It was obvious that Zhou Mi was still angry at him. "I'm sorry," he said, and even though he was driving he could see Zhou Mi turn his head to stare at him. 

"Why are you apologising?" 

"Because…" He missed the moment the light turned green, and was startled when the car behind honked their horn at him. 

"You don't even know." Zhou Mi sounded disappointed. 

Maybe Kyuhyun didn't know but - maybe he did know. And maybe he was sorry because, despite everything, he couldn't forget what Zhou Mi was. 

They had arrived at their building, and Kyuhyun pulled into his parking space, turning off the engine. As soon as the vehicle stopped Zhou Mi unbuckled his seatbelt. 

"Wait," Kyuhyun said before he could make a dash for it. "I -" he trailed off. _I miss you. Come home._ "It's my birthday soon. A few of my friends are coming over, it's just something quiet… you should come?" 

Zhou Mi eyed him before nodding slowly. "Okay," he agreed. "Okay." 

 

*

 

Victoria gave Kyuhyun a kiss on the cheek as she walked in, handing over the birthday cake she'd brought with her. Kyuhyun's small apartment was already packed - despite pushing all his furniture to the wall there wasn't much space. 

Most of his friends were there already - Ryeowook and Yesung were the ones who came in next, arriving together. They were newly reconciled, although still living apart. Kyuhyun played host, handing out drinks, and wondering if Zhou Mi was going to make an appearance. 

He'd texted him the details a few days ago, telling him to bring Sungmin, but Kyuhyun wasn't sure if he was going to come. He put it out of his mind as he chatted to his friends, not noticing Sungmin's presence until he tapped him on the shoulder. 

"Happy birthday," Sungmin said, handing over a wrapped bottle of wine. Zhou Mi was nowhere to be seen, and Kyuhyun thanked Sungmin for the gift while trying not to make it obvious that he was looking for him. 

Apparently he wasn't subtle enough because Sungmin told him, "He's in the kitchen. With - Ryeowook?"

Kyuhyun introduced Sungmin as his neighbour to those nearby: Changmin, Minho and Victoria, and when he was safely absorbed into the conversation with the others, Kyuhyun felt free to go searching for Zhou Mi.

He found him in the kitchen as Sungmin had said, chatting to Ryeowook. Yesung was also there, staring at him a little suspiciously, but seemingly behaving himself.

"Happy birthday," Zhou Mi told him as he neared, handing over an envelope. "This is for you." As Kyuhyun took it, Zhou Mi informed him, "It's football tickets. I hope you can go."

When Zhou Mi had been staying with him, Kyuhyun had tried to teach him the finer details of football. Zhou Mi hadn't quite understood the appeal of watching 11 people running around a field chasing a round ball, but apparently he'd remembered something because when Kyuhyun opened the envelope he was flabbergasted to find tickets to a World Cup match. 

"Wow - how - how did you get these?" The World Cup was being hosted by a different city, but tickets had been allocated by lottery months and months ago, with Kyuhyun missing out on even the initial group matches. And these, he realised as he took a closer look, were tickets to a semi-final. 

"It's okay?" 

"Yes! Wow, it's great. Thank you."

Zhou Mi beamed, obviously happy that he'd made a good choice. Kyuhyun hadn't seen him smile that brightly in a long time. He wanted to know how he was, what he'd been up to, but Zhou Mi lifted the glass of wine he was holding. 

"I should find Sungmin and give this to him." He excused himself and left the room. 

After he left, Yesung spoke up. "So that's what happened to Zhou Mi." Ryeowook looked a bit nervous, but Yesung laid a hand on his arm. "It's okay, I'm not mad. Though, I assume you gave him to Kyuhyun? Why isn't he living here?" He spoke to Kyuhyun. "Did you give him away?"

"Not exactly," Kyuhyun mumbled. "It's a long story." 

"I have time."

Kyuhyun opened his mouth, and to his surprise he ended up telling Yesung everything - how it all had started, how at first Zhou Mi had been sweet and naive but endearing, and how that had changed over time. A little bitterly, he told him that Zhou Mi had moved out the other month and Kyuhyun had barely seen him since. 

"You know," Yesung said after he finished. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way but - it sounds like he's doing okay without you. Maybe you should just let him be?"

"But -"

"Kyuhyun, you just ranted for ten minutes but it was all about you. How _you've_ been feeling. What about him?"

"But," Kyuhyun sputtered again. "What do you mean? He's an android and -"

"Oh god, Kyuhyun." Yesung shook his head at him, disappointed. "Even I can tell that he's not _just_ an android. Would _just_ an android know how much you love football? Enough to be able to track down tickets to the World Cup for you?"

Chastised, Kyuhyun fell silent, and Ryeowook stepped in to change the topic, trying to lighten the atmosphere. They chatted a while about Yesung's job - he'd been there for a couple of weeks - and then Kyuhyun left the kitchen to join the rest of his friends. 

But Yesung's comment niggled at him, lying dormant but present in the back of his mind.

Later that night, Sungmin drew him aside.

"He misses you," Sungmin said, referring to Zhou Mi, who was currently deep in discussion with Victoria. "I think… if you asked him to come back, he would." 

Kyuhyun couldn't stop thinking about what Yesung said to him earlier. He was right, he realised. Zhou Mi _was_ doing fine without him - not just fine, actually. He had flourished. He'd done so many things by himself: he had a job, friends, he had an entire life that didn't involve Kyuhyun. 

And Kyuhyun realised - he was proud of him. "I'm not going to ask him to come back," he told Sungmin, becoming more and more sure with every word he spoke. "He doesn't belong to me." Kyuhyun finally accepted that he never did. "He's himself, he's Zhou Mi, and he can," _he should_ "make his own choices." 

Zhou Mi looked up at the mention of his name, gaze questioning. From this angle his eyes were a deep brown, with no hint of that artificial light that Kyuhyun had been seeing. 

Kyuhyun just smiled at him and eventually - eventually - Zhou Mi smiled back. 

 

*

**The end.**

**Or is it?**

_A/N: if you're okay with this ending, do not read any further. I'M SERIOUS._

 

*

 

Life went on, as it always does, and Kyuhyun found himself busy, even without Zhou Mi. He worked, he saw his friends, he visited his parents - he even let his mother set him up on a blind date, a nice girl that he saw a couple of times, though nothing more permanent came from it. 

Winter ended, Spring came, and one day Kyuhyun realised that he hadn't spoken to, or seen, Zhou Mi in months. He was no longer responding to messages, and when Kyuhyun asked Sungmin about him, he was told that Zhou Mi was travelling around the world. 

Imagine that, Kyuhyun thought to himself. An android seeing the world. Part of him wished that he was with him. 

So when Kyuhyun walked into his apartment after work one day to find Zhou Mi sitting there - it was more than a surprise. It was a complete shock.

"Hi. Hi!" Kyuhyun said as he entered his living room. Zhou Mi was sitting on his couch, back straight and hands on his knees. 

"Hello Kyuhyun," Zhou Mi replied seriously, head swiveling to face him. 

"How are you? Where have you been? How long have you been back?" Kyuhyun leaned down to give him a hug, while bombarding him with questions. Zhou Mi was stiff underneath his embrace. 

"I went to see the world," Zhou Mi told him, his voice calm and emotionless. 

"I heard that. Why didn't you tell me?"

Zhou Mi seemed not to hear him. "Do you know that I have the capacity to learn every piece of information that exists and will ever exist?" He turned his right hand over and Kyuhyun saw that he was clutching the seashell that they'd collected so long ago. "But there's one thing that I didn't understand - what is it to be human?" He brought the shell up to his ear, tilting his head as he listened to it. "I went to so many countries. I met thousands of people. I wanted to know -" his fingers twitched as he lost his train of thought, pausing mid sentence. "When I left, I was so confused. You said - you told me - that I could never be human. i didn't understand why you said that to me. So I travelled the world to see if I could find what I was missing. Did I need more knowledge? Did I need more experience? Then I started to think about it rationally and - I realised you were right." 

"Right? About?" 

The light in Zhou Mi's eyes dimmed, and his lips quirked up in a tiny smile. "Kyuhyun, what's the meaning of life? Why do you exist? What's the purpose?" 

Kyuhyun was even more confused. It felt like Zhou Mi was having a conversation with someone else. Still, he did his best to answer the question, thinking hard on how best to respond. "I don't know - no one does really. Some say that there is no purpose - that the only point is to live well, love yourself, love others. Some believe in a higher purpose or an afterlife. But… I don't know for sure." 

"Do you believe that I'm alive?"

"I…" Kyuhyun couldn't think of what to say. He couldn't say yes, but at the same time, no also seemed to be the wrong answer. "I don't know." 

"I'm not, am I?" Zhou Mi asked. "Not in the way you are. Not in the way animals are. Not even in the way that plants are." He hummed, that little noise that Kyuhyun had come to associate with him processing information. "Mrs Lee passed away last week." 

A wave of sadness washed over Kyuhyun. "Oh… I'm so sorry. I know you were really close to her… I'm sorry." He reached out to take Zhou Mi's hand. His skin was surprisingly cold, fingers loose in Kyuhyun's grip. 

"Everyone will die, won't they?" Zhou Mi said, eyes downcast. "You'll die, Sungmin will die, Ryeowook will die. But I won't. I won't grow old, I won't change - one day you'll all be gone and I'll still be here - exactly the same." He lifted his eyes to Kyuhyun's face, glowing red. "You were right when you said I wasn't real." 

"Mi…" Kyuhyun's heart ached for him. "You _are_ real. I was wrong to say the things I did." 

Zhou Mi shook his head vigorously. "No, not in the way that matters. You tried to tell me but I didn't listen, I didn't want to know. I'm sorry." He lifted the shell to his ear for a moment before continuing. "I never told you my purpose - that thing that Ryeowook hard coded into me, the only thing that's embedded so deep in me that I can't change. The thing I'm built on."

There was a heaviness in Kyuhyun's chest, as he thought: _Ryeowook, what have you **done**_.

"My purpose is," Zhou Mi continued, still twisting the shell around in his hands, "to mimic human behaviour so strongly - to the fullest extent - that for all intents and purposes, I _am_ human."

That heaviness had turned into a deep ache as Kyuhyun realised what that meant. "Mi… I'm so sorry. I didn't know." 

Zhou Mi seemed to ignore him. "I came by today because I want you to do something for me. Will you do something for me?" He twisted to clasp both of Kyuhyun's hands in his, still cold to the touch.

"What is it?" 

"I want you to power me off, and then ask Ryeowook to dismantle me."

"What?" Kyuhyun jerked his hands away. "What? No! No, I can't!" 

"Please," Zhou Mi begged, and it was the first time Kyuhyun had ever heard such a desperate note in his voice. "I can't do it myself." He slid off the couch on to his knees, kneeling in front of Kyuhyun. "Please. You don't know what it's like… to be so close to being human and yet so far. Please, Kyuhyun, please." Zhou Mi laid his forehead on Kyuhyun's knees, and he could feel wetness seeping through the material of his trousers. "Please. There's no one else I trust."

"Don't… let's talk about this."

Zhou Mi shook his head, the set of his mouth stubborn even as it twisted in sadness. "There's nothing to talk about. You were right - I'm not human. I'm not alive. And no matter how much I try, now matter how much I want it, I never will be."

It was an incredibly cruel twist of fate that the thing that humanised Zhou Mi the most was the realisation that he wasn't. 

Kyuhyun stroked the back of Zhou Mi's head, feeling the softness of his hair under his fingers. His hair was all tousled, and he smoothed it down, combed the strands back in place. "Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked. 

Zhou Mi lifted his head, tear tracks on his cheeks. "Yes." 

"I don't know if I can do this,' Kyuhyun confessed, knowing that it was selfish. Was he selfish enough to condemn Zhou Mi to an existence that he no longer wanted, that he hated, because he wanted to hold him here? He didn't know. He just knew that it _hurt_ to see Zhou Mi like this, and it hurt to know that he could never change it. He could never make things right. 

" _Please_."

Kyuhyun cupped the back of his neck gently and Zhou Mi brought his hand up to rest on top of his. In the glint of Zhou Mi's eyes images flashed past: books, sunshine, trees, butterflies, puppies, snow, Ryeowook, Mrs Lee, Sungmin, Kyuhyun, Kyuhyun, Kyuhyun, Kyuhyun, Kyuhyun, Kyuhyun, Kyuhyun, Kyuhyun --- and Kyuhyun felt his heart shattering.

Zhou Mi closed his eyes.


End file.
